Animals

More Stories in Animals

  1. An Amami rabbit sitting on the ground.
    Animals

    A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds

    Rabbits aren’t thought of as seed dispersers, but the Amami rabbit of Japan has now been recorded munching on a plant’s seeds and pooping them out.

    By Darren Incorvaia
  2. a wild red jungle fowl, which looks like a colorful rooster, standing in a forest
    Animals

    Chicken DNA is replacing the genetics of their ancestral jungle fowl

    Up to half of modern jungle fowl genes have been inherited from domesticated chickens. That could threaten the wild birds’ long-term survival.

    By Jake Buehler
  3. an echidna standing in tall grass
    Animals

    These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles

    An echidna’s snot bubbles coat the spiny critter’s nose with moisture, which then evaporates and draws heat from the sinus, cooling the blood.

    By Elise Cutts
  4. A purple octopus as it sits on the ocean floor.
    Science & Society

    Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’

    In a collection of essays profiling 10 marine animals, author Sabrina Imbler mixes in stories of their own family, self-discovery, sexuality and healing.

    By Aina Abell
  5. A photo of a jumping bean moth resting on a seed pod.
    Animals

    Jumping beans’ random strategy always leads to shade — eventually

    Jumping beans use randomness to maximize their chances of getting out of the sun’s heat, a new study finds.

    By James R. Riordon
  6. image of male and female orb spiders mating
    Animals

    These are our favorite animal stories of 2022

    Goldfish driving cars, skydiving salamanders and spiders dodging postcoital death are among the critters that most impressed the Science News staff.

    By Deborah Balthazar
  7. A photo of a female common death adder on a bed of leaves
    Animals

    Scientists thought snakes didn’t have clitorises. They were wrong

    Snakes were long thought to be the only reptile group to lack clitorises. But new findings suggest the sex organs are present after all.

    By Jake Buehler
  8. A close up photo of a fossilized male katydid
    Paleontology

    Katydids had the earliest known insect ears 160 million years ago

    Fossils from the Jurassic Period show katydid ears looked identical to those of modern katydids and could pick up short-range calls.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  9. three gray wolves standing in the snow
    Life

    A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders

    In Yellowstone National Park, gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions, making them more likely to split off from the pack.

    By Jake Buehler