animals

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Urban Lizards Show &#39;Evolution as It&#39;s Unfolding&#39;
Urban Lizards
Show 'Evolution
as It's Unfolding'
NEW STUDY

Urban Lizards Show 'Evolution as It's Unfolding'

'Anolis cristatellus' evolved to cling to windows and walls over 30 to 80 generations: study

(Newser) - Lizards that once dwelled in forests but now slink around urban areas have genetically morphed to survive life in the city, researchers have found, per the AP . The Puerto Rican crested anole, a brown lizard with a bright orange throat fan, has sprouted special scales to better cling to smooth...

No Creature Walking the Earth Is Older Than This Tortoise

St. Helena's Jonathan, the oldest giant tortoise ever recorded, is at least 190 years old

(Newser) - A three-day birthday bash may seem excessive, but it's not every day you turn 190. Jonathan the giant tortoise , the oldest known living land animal, will celebrate that milestone this weekend at his home on the South Atlantic island of St. Helena. Believed to have hatched in the Seychelles...

Humans Blamed for Smaller Rhino Horns
Humans Triggered
a Change in Rhinos
NEW STUDY

Humans Triggered a Change in Rhinos

Horns have become smaller as a result of poaching, trophy hunting: study

(Newser) - Rhinoceros horns have become smaller over the past 135 years, likely as a result of trophy hunting and poaching, according to researchers, who say the change might not be for the better. Rhinos continue to be targeted for their horns, used in traditional medicines and for trophies , resulting in strict...

Wildlife Populations Worldwide Have Dropped 69% in 50 Years

So says a new report by World Wildlife Fund, Zoological Society of London

(Newser) - Humans' aggressive deforestation, plundering of the Earth for its natural resources, and contamination of the planet's air and water is not only putting our own species in a precarious position—it's managed to help wipe out more than two-thirds of the world's wildlife population in not even...

One Way Animals Keep Cool: Splooting
One Way Animals
Keep Cool: Splooting

One Way Animals Keep Cool: Splooting

Twitter learns the DoggoLingo term for heat dumping

(Newser) - Dogs sploot . Cats sploot . Bears sploot . Squirrels sploot . And on a hot day, you might just catch one in the act, as New Yorkers learned this week. "If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don't worry; it's just fine," NYC Parks tweeted Tuesday alongside...

It's the Biggest Freshwater Fish Ever Recorded

Giant stingray in Cambodia weighs in at 661 pounds

(Newser) - Researchers say they've encountered the largest freshwater fish ever documented—a giant stingray stretching 13 feet long, more than 7 feet wide, and weighing some 661 pounds. "In 20 years of researching giant fish in rivers and lakes on six continents, this is the largest freshwater fish that...

Researchers Work to Improve Screen Time for ... Monkeys

Encounters with audio, visual stimuli to help build better 'interactive enrichment systems'

(Newser) - Saki monkeys may prefer to listen to music more than the rain and appear more keen to watch underwater scenes than those featuring earthly worms, according to new research, which combined monkeys, screens, and speakers. Researchers at Scotland's University of Glasgow and Finland's Aalto University set up a...

Humans Revered Chickens for Centuries Before Eating Them
Long Before Chickens Were
Dinners, They Were Our Pals
NEW STUDIES

Long Before Chickens Were Dinners, They Were Our Pals

These potential spiritual guides only became dinner about 2K years ago, research suggests

(Newser) - Chickens and humans have only been mingling for about 3,500 years, not as long as 10,000 years as previously believed, and for a good chunk of that time our feathered friends were revered, not eaten. That's according to new archaeological research which sees chickens as "actually...

She Didn't Get Her Snakes Back. Then Cops Found a Freezer

Michael Patrick Turland accused of stuffing 183 animals in Arizona freezer, some while still alive

(Newser) - An Arizona man faces animal cruelty charges after 183 dead dogs, rabbits, birds, and other animals were found in a freezer, including some that were apparently frozen while alive, officials said. Local deputies and animal control officers found the animals in a garage freezer April 3 after a woman reported...

Fear Alone Takes Toll on Wildlife Populations


Fear of
Predators
Takes Surprising
Toll on Animals
new study

Fear of Predators Takes Surprising Toll on Animals

Study with sparrows suggests it affects multiple generations

(Newser) - If an animal species lives in an area where it's surrounded by predators, you wouldn't expect to see robust population growth. But what if the animals just think they're surrounded by predators? Turns out, the same applies, according to a new study out of Canada's Western...

Charity on Dogs in Ukraine Shelter: 'They Died a Terrible Death'

UAnimals says more than 300 dogs perished at Borodyanka site after no food, water for a month

(Newser) - As the world recoils at the images of death emerging out of Bucha, Ukraine, Ukrainian officials fear civilian massacres in Borodyanka might be even worse. An animal rights group now announces another apparent horror in the settlement northwest of Kyiv: hundreds of dogs found dead in a shelter, neglected since...

'Momentous Occasion' for One of the Rarest Animals on Earth

Indonesia's captive breeding program spawns new Sumatran rhino

(Newser) - Indonesia has just welcomed a bundle of joy in the form of one of the rarest mammals on Earth. A Sumatran rhino was born March 24 in a sanctuary to a mother that had suffered eight miscarriages since she was captured in the wild in 2005 as part of a...

Government Agents Killed 200 Animals an Hour in 2021

Critic slams USDA's Wildlife Services as 'taxpayer-funded wildlife slaughter'

(Newser) - A government agency killed more than 1.75 million animals across the country in 2021, in what it claims were necessary actions. New data shows the Wildlife Services branch of the US Department of Agriculture, which acts to "resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist,"...

Supporters Fight to Save Black Bear With a Death Sentence
Hank the Tank
Strikes Again
UPDATED

Hank the Tank Strikes Again

Supporters hope to remove black bear from Lake Tahoe area, where he's wreaking havoc

(Newser) - Update: Hank the Tank is at it again. The 500-pound black bear who's been busting into homes around Lake Tahoe made his way into yet another home Friday, according to South Lake Tahoe police. "He broke into a secured home, through the small window in the photo, and...

This Crocodile Got Its Brave but Good Samaritan

Reptile stuck in tire since 2016 is freed

(Newser) - Update: A crocodile that has been cursed with a tire around its neck since 2016 is finally free, thanks to a 34-year-old Indonesian man named Tili. He used chicken bait and nylon ropes to wrangle the animal on Monday with the help of dozens of locals who helped cut the...

DNA Is Airborne&mdash;and a Vacuum Can Grab It
Scientists Are Vacuuming
DNA Out of Thin Air
NEW STUDIES

Scientists Are Vacuuming DNA Out of Thin Air

Researcher envisions worldwide monitoring system for wildlife using environmental DNA

(Newser) - More than a decade ago, research began to describe the detection of DNA released by organisms into their environments. For the last several years, this environmental DNA has allowed scientists, including those at the US Geological Survey , to get a handle on the distribution and abundance of small, rare, or...

He&#39;s Helped &#39;Save Many Lives.&#39; He&#39;s Also a Rat
Retired 'HeroRAT'
Dies at Age 8
UPDATED

Retired 'HeroRAT' Dies at Age 8

Magawa sniffed out land mines in Cambodia until punching his last time card last year

(Newser) - Update: "A hero is laid to rest." So read the announcement Tuesday on the death of Magawa, the rat that became a legend in Cambodia for his award-winning work in sniffing out land mines. Belgian charity Apopo notes in its release that Magawa, 8, had seemed in generally...

Living Animals in White Rhino Breeding Program: One

Najin, one of 2 remaining northern white rhinos, has been retired

(Newser) - Hopes of saving the northern white rhinoceros now rest on a sole female, some frozen sperm, and a dozen embryos. There are just two northern white rhinos alive—females Najin and Fatu of Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy—whose eggs were extracted, then inseminated with frozen sperm from dead males...

It's a Sad End for One of Maryland's Runaway Zebras

Authorities now say only 3 escaped, and one was found dead in trap

(Newser) - A revised number and a grim update in the story of the escaped zebras who are roaming around in suburban Maryland at the moment: Despite reports that five zebras escaped from a farm on Aug. 31, and were still wandering as of early this month, a rep for the Prince...

Alpaca Set for Execution Gets a Human Shield

Male tested positive for bovine tuberculosis; supporters say the tests are flawed

(Newser) - If dogs are man's best friend, alpacas must not be far behind, given that more than 100,000 people are appealing to save an alpaca in England from execution. Geronimo, an 8-year-old who came to Gloucestershire from New Zealand four years ago, tested positive for bovine tuberculosis when his...

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