Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2021

What's the chattiest animal?

A pandemonium of parrots, a cackle of hyenas, an exaltation of larks — these are just a few of the animals that we define by the sounds they make. For humans, communication is the bedrock of our relationships and part of how we successfully function in our daily lives. Animals...

Jun 30, 2021

Manatees are dying in record numbers in Florida

A record-breaking number of manatees have died this year in Florida's waters, mostly due to starvation, according to recent news reports. Between Jan. 1 and July 2, 841 manatees died near and off the coast of Florida, according to a preliminary mortality report published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife...

Jun 30, 2021

Pristine DNA recovered from 1,600-year-old sheep mummy

A lone sheep leg, likely discarded by hungry mine workers, lay hidden in a salt mine in Iran for over a thousand years, during which time the salinity of the surrounding environment naturally mummified the limb. Now, scientists have extracted pristine DNA from the mummified leg and dated the sample...

May 31, 2021

Baby dinosaurs hatched in the Arctic 70 million years ago

Baby dinosaurs toddled around the chilly region that is now the Alaskan Arctic about 70 million years ago, according to the unexpected discovery of more than 100 baby dinosaur bones and teeth there, a new study reports. It was surprising to find evidence of a prehistoric nursery in such a...

May 31, 2021

6 weird animals that evolution came up with

1. Invisible frog The glass frog's see-through skin displays its internal organs. (Image credit: Getty)Most creatures hide their internal organs underneath multiple protective layers of skin, tissue and bone. But what if these layers were see-through? Looking at a glass frog from above, you may not notice anything out of...

Apr 30, 2021

Which animal has the stretchiest mouth?

A golden retriever named Finley Molloy enjoys picking up tennis balls so much, he can stretch his jaws and cheeks to fit six in his mouth at once, according to Guinness World Records. Finley is undoubtedly a good boy, but how does his achievement compare with other stretchy animal mouths?...

Apr 30, 2021

After a Chinese zoo covered up a leopard escape, 100 chickens are searching for the big cat

Chinese officials are hunting for an escaped leopard in the outskirts of Hangzhou, in eastern China, over three weeks after it escaped from a safari park. Hunters have used many methods to find the elusive big cat, including deploying a small army of drones and releasing around 100 live chickens...

Apr 30, 2021

Do animals hug each other?

COVID-19 interrupted one of life's most familiar acts: the warm, enveloping comfort of a hug. The pandemic taught us many things, some more important than others — but one of those is just how much many of us rely on these embraces for a sense of reassurance, consolation and calm....

Apr 30, 2021

What's the biggest freshwater fish in the world?

It took three biologists to haul a 240-pound (109 kilograms) fish out of the Detroit River in Michigan last month. The nearly 7-foot-long (2.1 meters) monster' sturgeon, caught and released by the Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, could be more than 100 years old. It's a mightily impressive catch...

Apr 30, 2021

'Wandering meatloaf' creature has teeth of iron

A weird mollusk, affectionately known as the wandering meatloaf, has teeth made of a rare iron mineral, previously found only along rocky coastlines, a new study finds. Researchers detected the rare iron mineral — called santabarbaraite — in the teeth of the rock-grazing mollusk Cryptochiton stelleri, nicknamed the wandering meatloaf...

Mar 31, 2021

Arctic walrus that drifted to Ireland is now hitching rides on passing ships

A walrus who accidentally made his way from the Arctic Circle to an Irish beach last month, likely while napping on a drifting iceberg, has continued his antics by clambering onto passing ships and even falling asleep on a slipway intended for lifeboats. As the marine mammal, endearingly named Wally,...

Mar 31, 2021

Largest recorded smalltooth sawfish washes up dead in Florida

The largest sawfish ever measured by scientists was found dead in the Florida Keys last week. The 16-foot-long (4.9 meters) sharp-snouted fish was a mature female with eggs the size of softballs found in her reproductive tract. Scientists are now studying her carcass to determine her age and to learn...

Mar 31, 2021

Long-necked dinosaurs migrated hundreds of miles, 'stomach stones' reveal

During the Jurassic period, long-necked dinosaurs migrated hundreds of miles across what is now the American Midwest, a new study finds. How do researchers know that these giant beasts migrated? The dinosaurs gulped down pink stones in what is now Wisconsin, trekked westward more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) and...

Mar 31, 2021

World's largest rabbit missing, presumed stolen

If you should see someone walking around central England with a 4-foot-long (1.2 meters) rabbit in tow, call the authorities. That rabbit may be Darius — the current record holder for the world's largest rabbit — who went missing from his Worcestershire home last weekend. It is believed the Continental...

Mar 31, 2021

Never mind outrunning a T. rex — you could probably outwalk it

Could you run faster than a T. rex? According to new research, you might be able to outpace one by walking. In the movie Jurassic Park (Warner Bros, 1993), a carful of terrified people famously tries to escape a loping T. rex, but science quickly threw shade at the movie...