For wounded chimpanzees, help sometimes comes in the form of first aid — care rendered not by humans but by other chimps. New research reveals the nature and prevalence of…
Category: Animals
This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap
Add a little-known species of assassin bugs to the list of animals that can fashion and wield tools. And true to their name, the insects use that tool to draw…
Chimp chatter is a lot more like human language than previously thought
Grunts, barks, screams and pants ring through Taï National Park in Cȏte d’Ivoire. Chimpanzees there combine these different calls like linguistic Legos to relay complex meanings when communicating, researchers report…
Ancient poems document the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise
The porpoise is critically endangered. Ancient Chinese poems reveal the animal’s range has dropped about 65 percent over the past 1,400 years.
Frog ribbits erupt via an extravagant variety of vocal sacs
Here’s a great case of real life turning out to be stranger than fiction. From baby’s first storybook to sly adult graphic novels, the story we’re told is the same:…
A man let snakes bite him 202 times. His blood helped create a new antivenom
A new antivenom relies on antibodies from the blood of Tim Friede, who immunized himself against snakebites by injecting increasing doses of venom into his body.
Cool water could protect sea stars from a mysterious disease
A mysterious disease that has plagued sea stars for more than a decade may have met its match in the fjords of British Columbia. Sunflower sea stars discovered thriving in…
The axolotl is endangered in the wild. A discovery offers hope
Despite capturing hearts around the world, the wild axolotl — an aquatic salamander with feathery frills and a soft smile — faces extinction. Fortunately, for both axolotls and their fans,…
Bird flu in cows shows no signs of adapting to humans — yet
WASHINGTON — When traces of H5N1 bird flu showed up in cow’s milk last year, it raised fears that the virus could become more infectious to humans. So far, that…
This caterpillar wears the body parts of insect prey
Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat.
