Search Results for: Elephants

Open the calendar Use the arrow keys to select a date
1,152 results
  1. Asian elephant grabbing a banana with her trunk
    Animals

    This elephant peels bananas, but only slightly ripe ones

    Pang Pha, an Asian elephant at Zoo Berlin, probably picked up the skill by observing her zookeeper.

    By Nora Bradford
  2. A photo of a northern elephant seal poking its head out of the water.
    Animals

    Northern elephant seals sleep just two hours a day at sea

    The marine mammals have truly awesome stamina for staying awake, sleeping only minutes at a time on months-long trips at sea.

    By Maria Temming
  3. An overhead photo of a black bowhead whale mother with a smaller gray bowhead whale child swimming on the surface of icy water.
    Animals

    Bowhead whales may have a cancer-defying superpower: DNA repair

    Bowhead whale cells repair damaged DNA exceptionally well, an ability that could prevent cancer and help the marine mammals live for centuries

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. An elephant seen behind an electric fence
    Animals

    A new book asks: What makes humans call some animals pests?

    In an interview with Science News, science journalist Bethany Brookshire discusses her new book, Pests, and why humans vilify certain animals.

    By Deborah Balthazar
  5. An illustration of an ancient whale under water with much smaller fish swimming around the massive creature.
    Paleontology

    A colossal ancient whale could be the heaviest animal ever known

    Perucetus colossus may have tipped the scales at up to 340 metric tons, but some scientists are skeptical it could have sustained that mass.

    By Skyler Ware
  6. A gloved hand swaps a green leaf.
    Animals

    A new DNA leaf swab technique could revolutionize how we monitor biodiversity

    Simple swabs of just 24 leaves in Uganda’s Kibale National Park provided a genetic snapshot of 52 animals in the tropical forest.

    By Darren Incorvaia
  7. an elephant trunk grabbing something from a human hand
    Life

    The top side of an elephant’s trunk stretches more than the bottom

    New research on elephant trunks could inspire different artificial skins for soft robots.

    By Meghan Rosen
  8. illustration showing rotting mean, fruit, vegetables and an animal carcass
    Anthropology

    A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat

    The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. An ancient ivory comb with a row of teeth faint signs of engraving
    Humans

    This ancient Canaanite comb is engraved with a plea against lice

    The Canaanite comb bears the earliest known instance of a complete sentence written in a phonetic alphabet, researchers say.

    By Freda Kreier
  10. male northern elephant seal
    Animals

    Male elephant seals aim to get huge or die trying

    Males will risk death to eat and grow as large as possible, since only the biggest males mate. But females aim for long-term survival.

    By Jake Buehler
  11. A headshot of Marjorie Weber smiling in front of large plants
    Ecosystems

    Marjorie Weber explores plant-protecting ants and other wonders of evolution

    Cooperation across the tree of life is an understudied driver of evolution and biodiversity, Marjorie Weber says.

    By Meghan Rosen
  12. A photo of a bluestreak cleaner wrasse.
    Animals

    Fish can recognize themselves in photos, further evidence they may be self-aware

    Cleaner fish recognize themselves in mirrors and photos, suggesting that far more animals may be self-aware than previously thought.

    By Betsy Mason