Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 14, 2012

New Survey Snaps Amazing Images of Snow Leopards, Prey

Amazing new video and still images of snow leopards and their prey were captured during the first-ever survey of snow leopard prey in Bhutan's newest national park. The new footage includes snow leopards engaging in scent-marking, which marks a leopard's turf, and a sub-adult snow leopard. The pictures are valuable...

Feb 27, 2012

New Photos Show Endangered Snow Leopards in Kashmir

An oft war-torn region of the Himalayas is now home to at least two endangered snow leopards, new photos taken by a conservation group have shown. Camera traps set up in Kashmir, just a few miles from the line of control separating the Indian province from Pakistan, snapped photos of...

Mar 2, 2012

Snow Leopard Poop Reveals Endangered Cats' Meals

Scientists have gotten their hands dirty in the name of closer study of snow leopards, one of the planet's most endangered big cats. Because it's notoriously difficult to get their hands on the elusive cats to learn about their movements and habits, the researchers had to settle for the next...

Apr 3, 2012

New Video Shows Rare Snow Leopards in Kashmir

Still images from camera traps set up near the India-Pakistan border revealed the presence of rare snow leopards in the region earlier this year and have now been stitched together into a new video that shows the leopards eating, as well as other species that roam the area. The camera...

Jul 17, 2012

Elusive Snow Leopards Collared for Science

Scientists have outfitted two snow leopards in a wild corner of Afghanistan with satellite-tracking collars, a first for the country and a boon for researchers trying to better understand the habits and favored habitats of the endangered cats. The snow leopards, both male, were captured in Afghanistan's northeastern Wakhan Corridor,...

Sep 5, 2013

Surprising Ally For Snow Leopards: Buddhist Monks

The endangered snow leopard has some allies in unexpected places. The leopards are being protected by hundreds of Buddhist monasteries on the Tibetan plateau, new research suggests. The scientists, who detailed their study last week in the journal Conservation Biology, found that half of the monasteries are within the snow...

Sep 11, 2013

Snow Leopard's Fate Hinges on Historic Talks (Op-Ed)

Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Program Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Snow leopards are struggling to survive in their mountain habitats — driven to the brink of extinction by increasing intrusions...

Aug 17, 2005

Lions and People Killing Each Other in Tanzania

Lions have killed more than 560 Tanzanians since 1990, scientists announced today. The victims include children playing outside huts and people dragged from their beds, researchers say. So Tanzanians are killing lions in increasing numbers, as you might expect. The solution seems to be in controlling the pigs. Researchers conclude...

Apr 11, 2006

Lion's Sexy Secret: It's in the Mane

Given the choice, a female lion is more likely to be attracted to a shaggy male from Chicago than a well-groomed guy from Houston. Chicago lions simply got more game. Scientists measured the size and fullness of lions' manes in northern and southern zoos and found that cats living in...

Oct 17, 2008

Rare White Lions Get Wild

A pride of white lions, including two adult males and two juvenile females, has been released into Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa's Western Cape Province. The release is the culmination of a years-long White Lion Project, which was sponsored by the Shamwari Dubai World Africa Conservation team. The white...

May 9, 2009

Cave Painting Depicts Extinct Marsupial Lion

Modern Australia lacks big land predators, but until about 30,000 years ago, the continent was ruled by Thylacoleo carnifex, the marsupial lion. Several well-preserved skeletons of the leopard-size beast have been found. Now, a newly discovered cave painting offers a glimpse of the animal's external appearance. In June 2008, Tim...

Sep 19, 2010

Zoo's Baby Lion Cubs Likely Female

It's a girl! Or rather, four of them! Four cubs recently born to African lioness Shera at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., appear to be female, zookeepers announced today. The keepers gave the new cubs their first checkup Friday morning, and all seem to be healthy, they said...

Oct 7, 2010

Too Cute! Lion Cubs Get First Checkup

The three lion cubs born at the Smithsonian National Zoo this September received a clean bill of health this week during their first check up. We're happy to see that the cubs are growing and that each appears to be in good health, said Jessica Siegal-Willott, supervisory veterinarian at the...

Dec 20, 2010

National Zoo Reveals Names of Lion Cubs

The seven lion cubs born at the Smithsonian National Zoo this past summer have all officially been named. The names were chosen in part by the zoo, and in part through a contest hosted by the zoo and the Washington Post, in which contest participants sent in their suggestions for...

Jan 10, 2011

Endangered Golden Lion Tamarin Monkeys Born at Cleveland Zoo

Two new golden lion tamarin monkeys have been born at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the second and third to be born in the past year to their parents. Golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia), considered one of the most endangered mammals on Earth, are bright orange-colored monkeys that live in small...