Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 16, 2023

Viral video of deer eating a snake isn't as weird as you might think

It makes for disturbing viewing: In a 22-second video shared recently on Instagram, a white-tailed deer locks eyes with the camera as it nonchalantly slurps up a dead snake like it's a strand of spaghetti. The somewhat unnerving scene, filmed by Texas-based Trey Reinhardt, provoked alarm across social media about...

Jun 26, 2023

Flying squirrels in China have discovered a clever new trick to store nuts for longer

Flying squirrels in China have developed a clever way to hide their nuts — chewing grooves in them so they can be stored between tree branches. The unusual behavior, seen in two species in the tropical rainforests of Hainan Island, may preserve the critters' food for longer than burying the...

Jun 28, 2023

See the moment a 28-year-old lab chimp glimpses the open sky for the 1st time

Vanilla, a 28-year-old chimpanzee, has lived her entire life in captivity without an unobscured view of the sky. But now, a heartwarming new video shows the great ape seeing the sky for the first time at an island chimp sanctuary in Florida. For a portion of her early life, Vanilla...

Jul 26, 2023

Buddhist ritual saves exotic fish from slaughter — only for 'adventurous' Tibetan otters to feast on them instead

A Buddhist ritual has created an all-you-can-eat buffet for otters living near rivers on the Tibetan Plateau, new research suggests. Fangsheng, meaning life release, is the religious practice of saving and releasing animals that were destined to be slaughtered. Buddhist texts recommend the ritual as a way of paying back...

Aug 9, 2023

Bison are being introduced to the Russian Arctic to replace extinct woolly mammoths. But why?

Scientists have introduced bison to the Russian Arctic to take on the role of extinct mammoths and help restore ancient ecosystems. Twelve plains bison (Bison bison bison) have arrived at Ingilor Nature Park, a protected area covering more than 2.2 million acres (900,000 hectares) in the northern Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area....

Aug 31, 2023

Critically endangered donkey with stripy 'zebra legs' born in UK zoo

One of the world's most endangered animals, an African wild ass — which looks like a donkey with zebra legs — has been born at a zoo in the U.K., raising hopes for its species' continued survival. African wild asses (Equus africanus) are a species of donkey native to Eritrea,...

Sep 6, 2023

Scientists finally figured out what's making German wild boars radioactive, and it's not just Chernobyl

After puzzling scientists for decades, researchers have finally figured out what's making Bavaria's wild boars radioactive, even as other animals show few signs of contamination. Turns out, the animals are still significantly contaminated with radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons detonated over 60 years ago — not just from the Chernobyl...

Oct 21, 2023

Takins: Strange, mountain-dwelling mammals with mythical golden fleeces

Name: Takin (Budorcas taxicolor); four subspecies: Bhutan takin (B. taxicolor whitei); golden takin (B. taxicolor bedfordi); Mishmi takin (B. taxicolor taxicolor); and Sichuan takin (B. taxicolor tibetana) Where it lives: Alpine zones and forested valleys in Asia, ranging through areas of Bhutan, Myanmar, northern India, central and southern China and...

Oct 27, 2023

Chimps go through menopause. That could shed light on how it evolved in humans.

Wild female chimpanzees in Uganda live well past the point when they can reproduce and probably go through menopause similar to humans, a new study has found. The finding raises fresh questions about why humans experience menopause. Until now, humans were one of only three animal species known to go...

Oct 27, 2023

22,000-foot volcano summit is home to Earth's highest-dwelling vertebrates, study confirms

The hostile, snow-capped tops of volcanoes in the Andes are home to the world's highest-dwelling vertebrates, new research confirms. The finding that small mammals live 22,000 feet (6,700 meters) above sea level challenges assumptions about the limits of vertebrate life, researchers told Science magazine. In the past, scientists repeatedly found...

Nov 2, 2023

Can rats 'imagine'? Rodents show signs of imagination while playing VR games

Do lab rats have the ability to imagine, like humans do? A new study says yes. Rats may be capable of a type of imagination that's crucial for route planning, research from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) suggests. Although the creative arts spring to mind when we think of...

Nov 7, 2023

Watch rare footage of wolf hunting sea otter in Alaska at low tide

Wolves on the Alaskan coast now regularly kill and eat sea otters and harbor seals, scientists have discovered. The finding suggests that the coastal wolves can adapt their hunting behavior — and may have developed unique strategies to prey on marine mammals when food on land is scarce. The study...

Nov 9, 2023

Chimps use military tactic only ever seen in humans before

Chimps use an ancient military tactic to make decisions and avoid potentially fatal clashes with rival groups, scientists have discovered. Researchers observed two western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) communities in Africa take to the hills to carry out surveillance on each other — much like reconnaissance missions used by militaries....

Nov 18, 2023

Do lemmings actually jump off of cliffs?

In 1958, Disney released a wildlife documentary called White Wilderness. One scene depicts a tiny, brown-furred rodent — a lemming — scuttling about in the Arctic snow. There is an actual living legend, the narrator declares, before diving into an explanation of the so-called lemming suicide myth. In a turn...

Nov 24, 2023

Giant 1.5-foot-long rat that can crack open coconuts photographed for 1st time on remote island

The first ever images of the Vangunu giant rat, an elusive rodent that can grow up to 1.5 feet long and is known from only a single specimen that fell out of a tree six years ago, have been recorded by researchers in the Solomon Islands. Using camera traps and...