Wild Things

The weird and wonderful in the natural world

  1. Animals

    The mystery of the missing fish heads

    When scientists opened up the stomachs of shortfin mako sharks, they found that nearly all of the digesting fish had no heads or tails.

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  2. Animals

    We’re only noticing the snowy owls

    A lemming boom last summer probably led to rises in populations of several predator species.

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  3. Animals

    Fish lose their fear on a denuded reef

    Juvenile damselfish lose their ability to smell danger when in a degraded habitat.

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  4. Animals

    Secret feather flaps help a falcon control its dive

    The pop-up feathers of a falcon act similar to flaps on an airplane’s wing.

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  5. Animals

    It doesn’t always take wings to fly high

    Microbes, bees, termites and geese have been clocked at high altitudes, where air density and oxygen are low.

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  6. Animals

    The Ice Age was harsh on orcas

    Killer whale DNA shows that climate change resulted in declines for most populations.

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  7. Earth

    Ammonite jaws provide a window into ancient climate

    Temperature of marine environment can be determined from cephalopod fossils.

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  8. Animals

    Cane toads can handle the cool

    The invasive amphibians may be able to spread farther across Australia than previously thought.

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  9. Animals

    Fungi threaten sea turtle nests

    The pathogens can kill up to 90 percent of eggs in a single nest.

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  10. Animals

    Gray seals snack on harbor porpoises

    Photo evidence confirms seals' fatal attacks on harbor porpoises in the English Channel, suggesting that declines in the seals' usual fare are forcing the animals to seek out other high-energy food.

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  11. Animals

    Eight ways that animals survive the winter

    Migrating to a warmer place is just the start when it comes to finding ways to stay toasty as temperatures drop.

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  12. Archaeology

    After 2,000 years, Ptolemy’s war elephants are revealed

    A genetic study sheds light on world’s only known battle between Asian and African elephants.

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