In the popular Alien sci-fi film franchise, the titular species—known as the “xenomorph”—targets hapless humans, often horrifically implanting their bodies with its own eggs. When the eggs hatch, the young emerge explosively from their unwilling incubator, with invariably fatal results for the human host. The jarring life cycle seems like something cooked up entirely in […] More
If you have a cat or have ever gotten sucked into cat videos on YouTube, then you know that beneath their fluffy exterior, often lies a heart of steel. It may come as no surprise, then, that a tiny, adorable wild cat is one of the world’s deadliest killers. Weighing about 3 to 4 points […] More
When cicada nymphs emerge from the ground, a certain percentage of them—between 2 and 5 percent—will acquire a fungal infection. The parasite rapidly grows inside these unlucky insects, eventually destroying whole sections of their body. But while the fungus has been known to science for a century, recent research published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports […] More
With their arresting size, cunning, and athleticism, Africa’s big cats—like lions, leopards, and cheetahs—get plenty of attention as avatars of carnivory. But the swiftest death on the sun-baked savanna comes from an animal that doesn’t look all that different from the lovable mutt snoring on your couch. African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are among the […] More
As our planet gets warmer, more species are being brought closer together than ever as climate bands shift polewards and key resources move along with them. When the species are closely related, the increased interaction can result in cross-breeding—as is the case between polar bears and grizzlies. But the opposite response can also be true. […] More
If you have a bird-feeder at home, you might want to keep an eye out for praying mantises. It turns out they not only eat pesky insects and bugs, but they sometimes target birds too. These bold-faced badasses linger near bird feeders and gardens, where they sit perfectly still and lay in wait for their […] More
As humanity becomes increasingly interconnected across the globe, the unintentional spread of non-native species into vulnerable habitats is creating a growing crisis. Wherever they go, invasive species have the potential to wreak havoc on ecosystems and economies alike, occasionally swelling to scourge status in the absence of native predators or meaningful restrictions on their reproduction. […] More
When it comes to snakes, most of the attention goes to highly venomous varieties (like cobras and vipers) and constrictors (like boas and pythons.) This makes sense since many of these species are either quite dangerous to humans or, at least, perceived to be. But there’s a remarkable diversity of snakes and their lifestyles—and some […] More
Some monkeys are actually physically capable of producing human speech. But their brains just aren’t wired to do so, according to research published in Science Advances. Researchers recorded X-ray of a long-tailed macaque’s vocal and facial movements as he made different sounds, like coos, grunts, yawns and lip smacks. Then, they used a computer model to simulate possible […] More
The number of Adélie Penguins, the species most common on the Antarctic Peninsula, has been steadily declining for several decades. At least, that’s what scientists thought, until researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NASA discovered something interesting in satellite imagery of the Danger Islands, off the peninsula’s northern coast. The images revealed guano (bird […] More
As global temperatures rise, ecosystems and the species they harbor are adjusting in response. Many habitats are either shifting their boundaries polewards—or disappearing altogether—sending wildlife into new regions, where they interact with resident creatures in surprising and often unprecedented ways. When this geographic collision is between two closely related species, they sometimes cross-breed, leading to […] More
Believe it or not, Americans once considered importing hippos from Africa so we could raise them for meat. The idea was proposed back in 1910, while the United States was in the middle of a serious meat shortage. A massive population explosion combined with overgrazed farmland resulted in skyrocketing beef prices as farmers scrambled to […] More
