Humans aren’t the only ones with midwives, it seems. Captive female bonobos have recently been observed assisting one another during birth, comforting the mother until the baby arrives. A research team from the University of Pisa and Unversité Claude Bernard Lyon witnessed the behavior at wildlife parks in the Netherlands and France on multiple occasions, and […] More
For the first time in over 40 years, hunters will be allowed to shoot iconic Yellowstone-area grizzly bears for sport. The highly controversial hunt is set to begin in September and will allow up to 22 grizzlies to be killed on public and private lands near Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The decision was […] More
The sting of this tiny jellyfish is so horrific, you might just ask your doctor to kill you. But that didn’t stop Jeremy Wade of the popular show River Monsters from trying to catch one by hand. Watch: Irukandji jellyfish is a blanket term for several of the most venomous box jellyfish species on the […] More
Believe it or not, there are insects here on earth that outweigh the average small rodent. Giant wetas (from the genus Deinacrida) are colossal cricket-like creatures that have roamed the planet since before the dinosaurs. Native to New Zealand, these unique insects resemble something of an over-sized horned grasshopper with enlarged hind legs. They’re not the […] More
Superb Bird-of-Paradise males are known for their ostentatious displays and mating dances. A bird-of-paradise species was identified just last year by its smooth dance moves on the undisturbed island of New Guinea. The species, dubbed the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise, looks almost identical to its now famous dancing “smiley face” cousin, the Greater Superb Bird-of-Paradise – […] More
Researchers at the University of Kansas discovered that stonefish — a group of fish common in Indo-Pacific coastal waters — have a horrifying defense mechanism: a retractable switchblade in either cheek. Called “lachrymal sabers,” the blades are controlled by overdeveloped bones and muscles below the eyes and extend outwards from the cheek when activated. Though […] More
A Minnesota mushroom hunter happened upon quite a rare find: a stillborn two-headed fawn. This is a first — before this, the only known case of conjoined fawns had been observed in utero (inside the mother’s womb). “It’s amazing and extremely rare,” University of Georgia scientist Gino D’Angelo said in a statement. “We can’t […] More
Male brown widow spiders seem to have a death wish: they prefer mating partners that are more likely to cannibalize them, an unusual study recently revealed. When given the choice, males gravitate towards older, less fertile females who are 50 percent more likely than younger females to eat them after mating. What’s even more baffling […] More
Bowhead whales may be the most versatile and creative singers in the sea, according to a recent study. Researchers out of the University of Washington recorded vocalizations of the 60-foot arctic behemoths over a span of four years, revealing a repertoire of more than 180 completely unique songs. Until now, it was assumed that bowheads […] More
The Ganges river shark (scientific name Glyphis gangeticus) hasn’t been spotted for more than 10 years. In fact, the critically endangered freshwater carnivore is so elusive, researchers’ knowledge of it is limited to what they’ve been able to learn from three museum specimens preserved in the 1800s. But recently, the shark was rediscovered in the last place […] More
Think of the mammals that lived during the Age of Dinosaurs and tiny, shrew-like creatures scurrying around and hiding from larger reptilian predators probably come to mind. But newly-uncovered fossil specimens described in the journal Nature Communications paint a much different picture of a fearsome, fighting creature that would have been a threat not only to those smaller, […] More
Researchers believe it was a crime of passion. But whatever the motivation, this is hard to stomach. Marine biologists at OrcaLab off the coast of Vancouver witnessed a horrifying scene: a mother-son pair teaming up to target and kill a newborn calf in the first documented case of infanticide among killer whales. Responding to strange calls […] More
