Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 15, 2022

Cats can memorize their friends' names, new study suggests

Your cat may not come when she's called, but that doesn't mean she's not listening. (Sorry, she's just ignoring you.) Recent studies suggest that domestic cats may share some of the same language recognition skills commonly seen in dogs. In a 2019 article in the journal Scientific Reports, a team...

Sep 15, 2022

You can't hide from your cat, so don't even try

Your cat is probably keeping track of where you are, even if your feline friend isn't in the same room with you and can't see you. Scientists recently learned that domestic cats create mental maps that tell them where nearby humans are located, based on where sounds are coming from....

Dec 15, 2010

Polar Bears Not Doomed if Swift and Serious Action is Taken

Polar bears, considered doomed if the Arctic sea ice continues to melt, have a fighting chance at survival if humans cut back on their emission of greenhouse gases, according to a new study. Our research offers a very promising, hopeful message, but it's also an incentive for mitigating greenhouse emissions,...

Feb 8, 2011

Loss of Arctic Ice Imperils Polar Bear Births

Loss of Arctic sea ice is linked to a decrease in polar bear birth rates in Canada's Hudson Bay, according to new research. If the trend continues, the polar bears in the region could be facing a population crisis. In fact, if climate change continues unabated, the researchers say, polar...

Mar 19, 2011

In Photos: Polar Bear Knut's Life

Knut with zookeeper (Image credit: © Markwaters | Dreamstime.com)Polar bear Knut with his zookeeper Thomas Doerflein (who had died in 2008) on the day of the first public appearance of the little bear in March 2007. Knut's Debut (Image credit: © Markwaters | Dreamstime.com)Knut made his first pubilc appearance at...

Mar 19, 2011

Superstar Polar Bear 'Knut' Dead at 4

Likely one of the only zoo animals to grace the cover of Vanity Fair, the hand-raised Knut polar bear reportedly died Saturday (Mar. 19) at the Berlin Zoo. The bear, born in captivity on Dec. 5, 2006, became a sensation after he was rejected by his mother and so hand-raised...

Mar 22, 2011

Polar Bear Knut's Death Tied to Brain Problems

An animal autopsy of the 4-year-old polar bear named Knut that died suddenly at the Berlin Zoo on Saturday (March 19) showed distinct brain changes that may be the cause of death. The necropsy, or animal autopsy, was undertaken Monday (March 21) at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife...

Jul 7, 2011

Mother of all Polar Bears: An Irish Brown Bear?

Twisted lines of ancestry seem to have intertwined two very different species: the water-loving polar bear and the forest-loving Irish brown bear. Despite being so different, the two seem to have found love: Meeting and breeding at least once during the last 120,000 years, the two species gave rise to...

Jul 19, 2011

Gallery: Stunning Photos of Polar Bears in the Arctic

Swimming Polar Bear (Image credit: Paul Nicklen | National Geographic Stock | World Wildlife Fund)The rapid loss of sea ice is forcing polar bears to go for longer swims, according to research. (Image credit: Paul Nicklen | National Geographic Stock | World Wildlife Fund)Two polar bears rest on an ice...

Jul 20, 2011

Climate Change Forcing Polar Bears to Swim Longer Distances

Biologists are warning that warmer temperatures from climate change are forcing polar bears to swim longer distances to find stable sea ice, which is proving deadly for many of their cubs. Researchers following a group of adult polar bears found a 45 percent mortality rate among the cubs of those...

Jul 29, 2011

Polar Bear Researcher Suspended, Spurring Alarm

The suspension of a wildlife biologist known for his research on drowned polar bears is causing confusion and alarm in scientific circles. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, (BOEMRE) was placed on administrative leave on July 18 pending the conclusion...

Dec 15, 2011

Is Global Warming Driving Polar Bears to Cannibalism?

Summer and fall are lean times for polar bears in the Arctic. In the colder months, they prey on seals, which sprawl on the sea ice that fringes the bears' terrain. But in the summer, much of this icy real estate melts away, and the seals take to the open...

Apr 10, 2012

Patchy Polar Bears Puzzle Scientists

Over the past two weeks, nine polar bears have shown up in the southern Beaufort Sea region near Barrow, Alaska, with patches of fur missing and skin lesions, say scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey who are perplexed by the cause of the odd symptoms. The animals were otherwise healthy...

Apr 19, 2012

Dawn of Polar Bears Far Earlier Than Thought

Polar bears have been chilling on the ice far longer than is generally thought, new research suggests, and they probably interbred with brown bears at one point after the two species separated. The new German study contradicts data from a study published last July in the journal Current Biology that...

Apr 19, 2012

Endangered Beauties: Images of Polar Bears

Landlocked Polar Bear (Image credit: Mark Maftei, Wildlife Conservation Society)The polar bear near the scientists' campsite off the Beaufort Sea. Polar bears have become increasingly confined to land as Arctic sea ice melts. Mama bear and cubs Global Warming May Kill Polar Bears, Scientist Polar Bear (Image credit: Robert Rockwell)Polar...