Animals
- Animals
Killer whales may use kelp brushes to slough off rough skin
The whales use quick body movements to tear pieces of bull kelp for use as tools, perhaps the first known toolmaking by a marine mammal.
- Animals
50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake.
- Animals
U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans
Alix Morris’s new book, A Year with the Seals, explores humans’ complicated relationship with these controversial marine mammals.
- Animals
Compare shark sizes on our infographic
As Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary, Science News explores the vast range of shark sizes, from megaladon to the dwarf lanternshark.
- Animals
This moth species may use the Milky Way as its guiding star
Bogong moths migrate up to 1,000 kilometers from Australian plains to mountain caves to escape the summer heat. The stars may help them get there.
- Animals
Fewer scavengers could mean more zoonotic disease
Scavenger populations are decreasing, a new study shows. That could put human health at risk.
- Animals
This spider’s barf is worse than its bite
Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew.
- Animals
Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching
Comparing various tactics for protecting rhinos suggests that dehorning them drastically reduces poaching.
- Animals
Probiotics helped great star corals fend off a deadly disease
A probiotic paste prevented the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease, but the treatment is still a proof-of-concept, not a cure.
- Animals
Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy
Nashville Zoo flamingos reveal the oddball birds generate many types of vortices to eat. The swirls could be an inspiration to human engineers.
- Animals
Aussie cockatoos use their beaks and claws to turn on water fountains
Parrots living in Sydney have learned how to turn on water fountains for a drink. It's the first such drinking strategy seen in the birds.
- Animals
How luna moths grow extravagant wings
Warm temperatures, not just predator pressure, may favor luna moths’ long bat-fooling streamers, a geographic analysis of iNaturalist pics shows.
