The World’s Cutest Mammal on the Brink
Most people haven’t heard of the Ili Pika, a small mammal native to high altitude slopes in China’s Tianshan mountains. The fuzzy creature, which has the adorable nickname of “magic rabbit” resembles a...
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The Global Jellyfish Crisis in Perspective
Seen from high above, a jellyfish bloom is a single mass, a brushstroke on the ocean’s vast surface. Zoom in closer and the streaks begin to resolve themselves, separating into hundreds of individual...
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Is The Tasmanian Tiger Really Extinct?
In the generally accepted story, the last thylacine, a marsupial carnivore from Australia, died in captivity in the 1930s. The species was officially declared extinct in the 1980s. Not everyone,...
View ArticleThe Science of Ticks
Lots of people love to enjoy the outdoors in the summer—picnicking, chilling out on the lawn, hikes in the woods. Unfortunately, in many areas, a mild winter and abundant mice have led to a bumper crop...
View ArticleCrows Are Even Smarter Than We Thought
Not many animals have the capacity to plan ahead, but the New Caledonian Crow is one of them. These birds were observed to keep a tool handy for later use, a degree of advance planning on the level of...
View ArticleThe Final Migration of the American Eel
It’s fall, and many of the world’s great migrations are under way. You’ve all heard about birds and monarch butterflies. But right now, slithering past lower Manhattan, an equally incredible migration...
View ArticleThe Complexity of Animal Communication
Alarm calls truly display the complexity of animal communication. For example, scientists have learned that chimps tailor their warning communications based on the knowledge level of the recipient. The...
View ArticleFish Are Smarter Than You Think
While working on my doctoral research on fish ecology in Panama, I saw the display of fish intelligence that stayed with me for years. I had an underwater experiment that I visited daily and cleaned on...
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The Unexpected Result of Australia’s Dingo Fence
Looping for more than 5000 dusty kilometers across the Australian outback is the world’s largest ecological field experiment: an unassuming chain link fence designed to keep dingoes, or Australian wild...
View ArticleA Brief History of Skis
When the cross-country skiers push off for the 50 kilometer race at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, they will glide across the groomed track on slender skis, propelling themselves with...
View ArticleCamouflage Artists of the Animal Kingdom
Researchers in Ecuador were amazed to discover that a new species of tiny frog can rapidly grow small spikes on its skin. The raised skin helps the frog hide in abundant cloud forest moss. When removed...
View ArticleWho Needs Mitochondria Anyway?
Though science has long maintained that all complex organisms have mitochondria, an organism without mitochondria has been discovered. All organisms more complicated than bacteria are eukaryotic,...
View ArticleGiant Squid, Giant Secrets
On July 31, 1874, off the coast of Sri Lanka, horrified passengers on the steamer Strathowan watched helplessly as the schooner Pearl was sunk by a huge, tentacled “brownish mass” believed to be a...
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