You’d think the “Jurassic Park” movies were cautionary tales, because, you know, tons of people died. But paleontologist Jack Horner, who served as a consultant on the film series, thinks it’s only a matter of time before science brings dinosaurs back for real — and he can’t wait. “It’s a terrific concept, right? I don’t care […] More
5,000 to 7,500 pangolins must have been killed to produce the amount of scales seized this month in Shanghai. https://t.co/T98XCqnEnP — NPR (@NPR) December 28, 2016 Chinese customs just discovered a colossal illegal shipment of pangolin scales. Three people were caught in the bust, which consisted of 101 bags of scales weighing in at an […] More
A recent report just revealed that there are only 7,100 cheetahs left on the planet. The study, which was published in PNAS, states that world’s fastest mammal is headed towards in extinction mainly due to human conflict and the fact that their range extends well outside protected areas. In fact, 77% of the cheetah’s habitat falls […] More
It’s eluded humans so far, but the secret to immortality may lie in the hands — no, tentacles — of one species of jellyfish commonly found in the Mediterranean Sea. The Turritopsis dohrnii or “immortal jellyfish” is smaller than a fingernail and has a clearly visible bright-red stomach. But the fascinating part is its ability […] More
What looks like a colorful feather duster, moves like a giant spider and lives in the ocean? That would be a feather star, a beautiful otherworldly sea creature that dates back to more than 400 million years ago. They are part of the crinoid family which contains both sea lilies (which have a stalk that […] More
Skull fragment. Image: Oceana/Twitter ; Credit Timothy Myers A paleontologist just released a statement that he discovered the remains of a sea turtle that was previously unknown to science. About 65.5 million years ago, an asteroid struck Earth’s surface, leading to a mass extinction that wiped out around three-quarters of all species. However, an unlikely animal survived — […] More
Whale vomit (also known as ambergris) Three men hit the jackpot when they found 176 pounds of floating whale vomit worth an estimated $2.8 million. The fishermen were reported to have discovered one giant chunk off the coast of Qurayat in the northeastern part of Oman. One of the men said in the report, “We used a […] More
Arachnophobics, beware: Spiders can hear you from across the room. While it’s already well known that spiders can “hear” sounds through their leg hairs in response to vibrations, scientists had previously thought that they could only do so within several inches of those vibrations. It has now been determined, however, that spiders can detect vibrations […] More
The rusty patched bumble bee was just listed as endangered — and its the first bee to acquire such a listing in the continental United States. This will bring new hope to not only this species, but systems as a whole. A senior conservation biologist for the Xerxes society said in a press release, “Addressing the […] More
Image: Jamie Hiscocks/FB What a fossil hunter nearly passed over a decade ago turned out to be a fossilized dinosaur brain. The fossil was tiny and resembled just one of many small pebbles along the British coastline, according to English amatuer fossil hunter Jamie Hiscocks. According to experts, the tissue was essentially “pickled” when the […] More
Have you seen all of these? We’ve compiled some the most amazing wildlife rescues of all time, including a lioness that had been mauled by a buffalo, a sea turtle with a straw stuck up its nose, and an elephant calf that had been speared in the head by poachers. Some of these animals would […] More
Wildlife officials in Tanzania are training African giant pouched rats to help identify illegal shipments of pangolins, a heavily trafficked endangered species. Funded through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as an effort to end wildlife trafficking, this program is currently assessing the rats’ ability to sniff out pangolins in various settings. […] More
