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The Oystercatcher’s 15-Year Comeback
Once nearly gone from the eastern seaboard, oystercatchers faced a threat no one expected: it wasn't adult birds dying off,…
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Chimps and Bonobos Form ‘Hug Trains’ to Avoid Food Fights
Before chimpanzees and bonobos sit down to share a meal, they perform a surprisingly tender ritual that keeps the peace.…
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The Town That Carries Frogs Across a Road Every Spring
Every spring in Keene, New Hampshire, volunteers wade into the dark to carry thousands of frogs and salamanders across a…
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The Destructive Caterpillar That Can Digest Styrofoam
A crop-destroying caterpillar notorious for ravaging cotton and soybean fields may hold an unexpected solution to one of the world's…
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One Million Octopuses Spared After 5-Year Global Battle
A Spanish seafood giant had a bold plan to farm one million octopuses on a single dock, and the world's…
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Why Sharks Keep Stealing Anglers’ Catches — and What NOAA Is Doing
Shark depredation has frustrated ocean anglers for generations, but now complaints have grown loud enough that a federal agency is…
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Tiny Crab Hid Under Rocks in the South China Sea and Fooled Researchers for Years
Researchers kept walking right past this tiny South China Sea crab, convinced it was a species they already knew. It…
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Teeth Smaller Than Rice Helped Add a Branch to the Marsupial Family Tree
A few teeth barely bigger than grains of rice sat unidentified in an Australian cave for millions of years, and…
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A Grain-of-Rice Bug Hid a Reproductive Organ Unlike Any Known to Science
Researchers sweeping through a Chinese forest park thought they had bagged a familiar insect, but a closer look under the…
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How a Forgotten Photo Led to One of Africa’s Rarest Monkey Discoveries
Scientists just named a secretive monkey hiding in the Congo rainforest, but the creature faces a race against time before…
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One Mosquito Bite, Years of Joint Pain
A single mosquito bite can trigger joint pain so severe it bends the body double, and for some people that…
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Orcas Are Appearing off Northumberland — and No One Knows Why
Boat captains off the Northumberland coast have spotted killer whales more times in the past two years than in living…
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The ‘Extinct’ Fox That Reappeared After 20 Years on Cozumel
Scientists believed the tiny Cozumel fox had vanished from the planet, with nothing left but ancient bone fragments to prove…
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From 2 Million to 170,000: Chimpanzees Are Running out of Time
A century ago, millions of chimpanzees roamed across Africa, sharing 98.6 percent of our DNA and even crafting their own…
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9 African Nations Made a Bold Pledge to Save the West Indian Ocean
Several East African governments just made a series of bold ocean pledges in Mombasa, and the ripple effects could reshape…
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How Osprey Chicks Go Learn to Fly in 55 Days
Osprey chicks go from helpless hatchlings to fearless fliers in a matter of weeks, but getting there requires a surprisingly…
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The Tiny Window Each Year When Puffins Return to Shore
For most of the year, puffins vanish into the open ocean and live like ghosts. But for a few chaotic…
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Animals’ Habits May Be a Survival Superpower, New Study Suggests
Every morning, a hummingbird visits the same plant on the same schedule, and researchers now think that routine might be…
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How Humpback Whales Trap Prey with Rings of Bubbles in Alaska
Every July, dozens of humpback whales surface simultaneously in Alaskan waters, mouths agape, executing a coordinated hunting strategy so precise…
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The Wind Trick That Draws Blue Whales Close to Shore in July
A subtle shift in coastal winds sets off a chain reaction that pulls cold, nutrient-rich water up from the ocean…
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135 Scientists Warn Europe’s Pollinator Crisis Runs Deeper Than Bees
A coalition of 135 European researchers just published a stark warning about a pollinator crisis that has almost nothing to…
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Rats Rescued Trapped Friends, Then Freely Shared the Chocolate
Scientists gave one rat a choice between freeing its trapped friend and keeping a pile of chocolate all to itself.…
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Wild Elephants Roam 500 Miles. These 2 Have Had 1.5 Acres for 30 Years.
Two Indian elephants have spent their entire captive lives in a zoo enclosure a fraction of what nature intended, and…
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6 Mosquito-Borne Illnesses Now Spreading in the U.S.
Mosquitoes are expanding their territory across the United States, and the diseases they carry are showing up in places experts…
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Avian Flu Lockdown May Have Led to London’s First Royal Pelican Chicks
For over 360 years, pelicans have graced London's royal park without ever raising a single chick. Then an avian flu…
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A 122-Year-Old Fossil Hid Stripes Until UV Light Struck
A fossil crocodile that sat in a Spanish museum for over a century just gave up secrets no researcher had…
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2 Billion Birding Observations Helped AI Crack a 30-Year Radar Mystery
Every spring and fall, in North America, weather radar captures something besides the actual weather. As large flocks of birds…
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Goats Can Do Something Chimps Can’t — and Babies Can
When it comes to being the greatest of all time, domestic goats may actually be the GOAT—at least among barnyard…
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Australia Sees 3 Shark Fatalities in 30 Days, Far Above Normal
For the third time in less than one month, a fatal shark attack occurred off the Australian coast. Shark attacks…
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The U.S. Plan to Kill 450,000 Owls to Save One Species
In the Pacific Northwest, an owl hunt is underway. Members of the Yakama Nation have started shooting barred owls on…
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Once Terrified of Humans, These Gorillas Now Teach Their Young Trust
In Cameroon’s Campo Ma’an National Park, western lowland gorillas were once a rare sight. If they heard a human voice,…
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A Bigger Possum Was Stealing Nest Boxes, So Researchers Shrank the Door by 1 Millimeter
For pygmy-possums, life on Australia’s Kangaroo Island was always quite nice. So nice that two different species of pygmy possum…
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Urban Heat Is Forcing Insects to Evolve in Years, Not Millennia
On a hot summer day, strolling down a city street with concrete in every direction can feel like walking into…
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Sesame-Seed Sea Slug Reveals Taiwan’s Hidden Ocean Life
When you’re out on a recreational scuba dive, you see all sorts of interesting things. Marine life comes in all…
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Reef Manta Rays Don’t Flee Monsoons, They Plunge Hundreds of Feet
For giant reef manta rays that call the shallow waters of Papua New Guinea home, radical weather is nothing new.…
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Tropical Forest AI Was Only Looking Down — TropiCam Changes That
Wildlife cameras are nothing new. Each year, they capture millions of pictures of ground-dwelling animals roaming in their natural habitats.…
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How Monkeys Decide to Cooperate and What It Reveals
In a lab tucked away on the Yale University campus, researchers are quietly observing a pair of marmoset monkeys. The…
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Warmer Sand, Fewer Males: The Crisis Quietly Facing Sea Turtles
They outlived dinosaurs, have built-in GPS that helps them navigate the world’s oceans with ease, and intuitively know how to…
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50 Billion Chickens and the Fight to Rewrite Animal Rights Law
An estimated 50 billion chickens are raised for meat each year, with another five billion dedicated to producing eggs. Most…
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Our Living Seas: The Crisis in Marine Ecosystems and How the World Is Responding
I live on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, a place blessed with a shallow fringing reef just steps from…
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Ocean Census Finds 1,100+ New Species in Just One Year
Earth’s oceans cover more than 70 percent of our planet’s surface. That is a lot of room for species to…
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Responsible Hiking Still Disrupts Wildlife, 6-Year Study Shows
Picture this. You’re quietly hiking along your favorite trail, doing all the things an outdoor enthusiast should do. You stay…
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Humans Killed the Moa in 150 Years. Can a Biotech Firm Bring It Back?
Chicks hatched in artificial environments aren’t anything new, and it’s usually not newsworthy. For decades, researchers have experimented with crude…
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Bats Don’t Just Hear Sound — They Actively Reshape It to Hunt
As darkness falls, a greater Japanese horseshoe bat gets ready to head out for the night’s hunt. As it takes…
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Indigenous Lands Protect Wildlife Better Than Many Government Parks, Research Says
Despite a lack of resources and recognition, lands managed by Indigenous Peoples keep pace with—and in some cases outperform—similar lands…
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Humpback Whales Keep Opening Their Mouths and Nobody Knows Why
Picture this. You’re on a whale watching trip in an exotic locale, when a giant humpback whale swims up next…
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Why Buying a Baby Gibbon Can Imperil an Entire Family
In the hills of northern Thailand, the Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary has become a critical refuge for one of the region’s…
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Trapped in Glue, Stuffed in Tubes: How Parrots Reach Your Pet Store
World Parrot Day is a fitting time to zoom in on the current state of parrot populations in the wild…
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Otters Were Hunted to Near Extinction and Now They’re Healing Rivers
World Otter Day is May 25th, and that’s cause to celebrate! Besides their absolute cuteness, these curious critters are also…
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Turtles Outlasted Dinosaurs But May Not Survive Us
May 23rd is World Turtle Day. It’s the perfect time to celebrate what makes these creatures so amazing and focus…