Wild Things
The weird and wonderful in the natural world
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
As IUCN votes on ivory trade, elephants’ future looks bleak
As the IUCN prepares to debate an end to the ivory trade, two new reports show just how poorly Africa’s elephant species are faring.
- Animals
Tail vibrations may have preceded evolution of rattlesnake rattle
The rattle on a rattlesnake evolved just once. A new study contends it may have come out of a common behavior — tail vibration — that snakes use to deter predators.
- Animals
The weird mating habits of daddy longlegs
Scientists studying the sex lives of daddy longlegs are finding there’s a lot of diversity among this group of arachnids.
- Animals
Lizard mom’s microbiome may protect her eggs
Striped plateau lizard moms don’t do any parenting beyond laying eggs. But they may convey protection from pathogens with help from their microbiome.
- Animals
Capybaras may be poised to be Florida’s next invasive rodent
Some capybaras have escaped their owners in Florida. Others have been set loose. Now there are fears the giant rodents could become established in the state.
- Animals
Bird-friendly yards have a major downside — for birds
Vegetation and feeders bring birds into our yards. But those lures also bring more birds to collide with the windows in our homes.
- Animals
Pup kidnapping has a happy ending when a seal gets two moms
A female fur seal kidnapped another seal’s pup. But this turned out to be a positive the young seal, scientists found.
- Oceans
Sea ice algae drive the Arctic food web
Even organisms that don’t depend on sea ice depend on sea ice algae, a new study finds. But Arctic sea ice is disappearing.
- Animals
Tiny ants move a ton of soil
For the first time, scientists have quantified how much soil ants move underground.
- Animals
For jaguars, armored prey is no obstacle
With big heads, thick teeth and strong muscles, jaguars have evolved to take on dangerous prey, often animals covered with thick armor.
- Animals
When bird populations shrink, females fly away
In small and shrinking populations of willow warblers, males outnumber females. That’s because girls choose to join bigger groups, a new study finds.
- Animals
Beetles that battle make better moms than ones that never fight
Female burying beetles that have to fight before reproducing spend more time caring for offspring than beetles with no fighting experience, a new study finds.
