Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

May 11, 2023

Rare and deadly albino cobra slithers into house during intense rainstorm

An extremely rare and potentially deadly albino cobra had to be removed from a house in India after the white snake slithered in during a severe rainstorm. Neighbors spotted the pale cobra climbing out of fast flowing water on the ground and into a passageway beside the house in Coimbatore...

May 19, 2023

Do snakes have ears?

Snakes are unique animals, with their limbless bodies, flicking tongues and the ability to devour prey whole. They mostly rely on their sense of smell to hunt prey, although they do use sight and sound too. But do snakes have ears? Yes and no, Sara Ruane, a herpetologist at the...

Jun 5, 2023

Burmese pythons are helping rats take over Florida's Everglades — and that could help spread disease

Burmese pythons are inadvertently helping rats dominate parts of the Everglades in Florida by wiping out their traditional predators, researchers have found. The rise in rodents could further disrupt an already fragile ecosystem and increase the risk of disease to humans. The first Burmese python (Python bivittatus) was found in...

Jun 5, 2023

Crocodiles and gharials are getting bizarre orange 'tans' in Nepal. Here's why.

Freshwater mugger crocodiles and gharials are turning orange in Nepal, and scientists think it's down to iron in the waters where they hang out. The orange crocs were spotted in Chitwan National Park, a protected area of the Himalayan foothills. Have these crocs been drinking too much Sunny D? Messily...

Jun 6, 2023

Man survives crocodile attack by prying its jaws off his head. How did he escape such a powerful bite?

A man in Australia recently escaped from the reptilian jaws of death after a crocodile clamped down on his head. Marcus McGowan was snorkeling about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Cape York coast in Queensland when a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) attacked him from behind. These reptiles have the...

Jun 6, 2023

'Virgin birth' recorded in crocodile for 1st time ever

Scientists have announced the first ever recorded case of a crocodile virgin birth after a female that had been isolated for 16 years was discovered with a clutch of eggs. The discovery provides tantalizing insights into the evolutionary origins of the trait, potentially shedding light on the reproductive capabilities of...

Jun 7, 2023

Crocodile murder mystery deepens following discovery of 2nd corpse with 'fileted' head

Trouble is brewing in Australia's Croc Country after a female crocodile was found fileted, with only her head and spine left behind. Local tour guides spotted the butchered carcass on May 18 on the banks of the Daintree River, Queensland. The death marks the second mysterious crocodile killing in recent...

Jun 7, 2023

World's largest captive croc turns 120, giving scientists 'serious knowledge on longevity'

Cassius, the world's largest crocodile living in captivity, just turned 120 years old. Or at least that's his estimated age, scientists say. It's difficult to determine a crocodile's age based on its size. Once they reach adulthood, the rate at which crocodiles grow slows down and eventually grinds to a...

Jun 19, 2023

1st gene-edited snakes use mysterious 'Turing patterns' to achieve near-perfect hexagonal scales

For the first time ever, scientists have created genetically modified snakes. The CRISPR-edited reptiles are providing new insight into how corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) develop their precisely patterned scales. Much like feathers on birds or hairs on mammals, snake scales are the result of placodes — small, thickened structures on...

Jun 26, 2023

120-year-old Cassius is pushing limit of crocodile longevity — and he's got 'years to come,' expert says

Cassius, a 120-year-old crocodile living in captivity in Australia, is happy and healthy and will live for years to come, experts who conducted his annual health check say. Cassius is such a magnificent, beautiful boy, Sally Isberg, managing director at the Center for Crocodile Research in Australia who led the...

Jul 5, 2023

Watch 2 giant, highly venomous black mambas fighting in someone's backyard

Two huge, highly venomous black mambas — both over 8 feet (2.4 meters) long — have been filmed in a fierce wrestling match in a person's backyard. The males fought for over 30 minutes in Queensburgh, South Africa. The pair were filmed in a twisted embrace as they attempted to...

Jul 11, 2023

Enormous Burmese python killed in Florida Everglades was about to lay 60 eggs

A huge Burmese python has been caught in Florida with a clutch of 60 eggs that were just days from being laid. Hunter Mike Kimmel captured and killed the 16-foot-long (5 meters) snake in the Everglades, where the invasive species has been wreaking havoc on local ecosystems for decades. A...

Jul 31, 2023

Long-held myth says Hurricane Andrew sparked Florida's Burmese python problem. Is it true?

On Aug. 4, hunters in southern Florida will begin a cull of Burmese pythons as part of an annual competition to try and keep the invasive snakes' population in check. Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) are native to southeast Asia, where they slink through thick jungles, grasslands and swamps. But these...

Aug 9, 2023

Crocodiles are drawn to the wails of crying human babies and infant primates

Nile crocodiles respond to the sound of human babies crying, as well as the cries of infant chimpanzees and bonobos, a new study finds. What's more, the crocodiles seemed to be most responsive to higher-intensity cries — and may even be better at picking up on the level of distress...

Aug 12, 2023

How do rattlesnakes rattle?

The sound of a rattlesnake's rattle is perhaps the most frightening sound you could hear on a hike. But how and why do these snakes make this iconic noise? Everything tells us that they rattle to alert predators, David Pfennig, a professor of biology at the University of North Carolina...