You might want to think twice before visiting a tiger park on your next vacation. Thousands of tigers are being exploited for entertainment and profit at “tiger farms” masquerading as sanctuaries and zoos across Asia. Numerous investigations have revealed that the farms are little more than livestock facilities that breed tigers and sell their parts. […] More
The rusty-patched bumblebee was recently the first bee in the Continental United States to be listed as an endangered species, and scientists might have found one reason why: a parasitic fungus is literally making the males too fat to mate. Once ingested, the fungus (Nosema bombi) swells in the bumblebee’s tissues until the bee gets so […] More
Researchers in the Bahamas discovered a surprisingly well-preserved specimen of an extinct giant tortoise that died about 1,000 years ago. The tortoise species, named Chelonoidis alburyorum, is related to the Chaco tortoise from South America and the endangered giant tortoise which is found only on the Galapagos Islands. Caribbean giant tortoises, like this one, became […] More
Image: Wikimedia Commons There are big, bad things happening on our ice shelves. Emphasis on the big. In 2012, documentarians in Greenland filming the award-winning film “Chasing Ice” witnessed a 75-minute long record-breaking calving event. “Calving” is the term for a huge chunk of ice breaking off an ice sheet. The piece that broke off […] More
When you think migration, you may picture birds or whales. The largest migration on earth, though, includes much smaller creatures — a lot of them. A study published in the journal Science covers the seasonal migration of insects, which is almost eight times larger than the annual migration of birds that migrate from Britain to […] More
For millennia, humans have been comparing themselves to wolves. It’s not a big stretch; the way wolves behave in their packs isn’t too different from the way human social structures work in tribes and families. But there’s one comparison we’ve been getting wrong. The “alpha-male” stereotype conjures up aggression and strong, loud leadership. It’s someone […] More
Image: Wikimedia Commons Even when they find themselves in unfamiliar waters, sea turtles have a remarkable ability to find their way home. Now, scientists have a pretty amazing theory about their navigational skills; They may be using the sun to set their very accurate internal compasses. Scientists at James Cook University in Australia tagged 22 […] More
It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but butterflies with transparent wings are in fact very real. Unlike other butterflies whose colorful wing scales help camouflage them or scare off predators, the aptly-named glasswing butterfly (Greta oto) has wings that are practically see-through, making them almost invisible to hungry hunters. The transparency comes […] More
Meet Kabu, an elephant in Thailand who was rescued in 2017 after years of abuse and poor conditions. For more than 20 years, Kabu worked in a mountain village, hauling logs along steep roads. Forced to continue working with an injured leg, she eventually developed a debilitating limp as the injury failed to heal properly. […] More
If big snakes make you nervous, it might be time to stop reading. Still here? Excellent. Workers on a construction site in Malaysia got more than they bargained for when a giant reticulated python showed up on the job. The crew, working in the tourist destination Paya Terubong on the island of Penang, called authorities when […] 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
Talk about a martyr! A species of Malaysian ant known as Camponotus saundersi can actually commit suicide to fend off attackers and defend their colony. The tiny exploding ants belong to a genus of carpenter ants typically found in Malaysia and Brunei. Their colonies are often under threat from weaver ants seeking to take over […] More
