Animals

National

For 51 years this killer whale has lived in a tiny tank. Now her health is at risk

8:00am October 30, 2021

by Greg Allen

For decades, activists have argued that Miami Seaquarium housed Lolita, an endangered orca in a tank that's much too small. A new USDA report found other serious violations in how she's been treated.

Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox warms up in the bullpen before a game against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park on Aug. 1, 2017.

Sports

PETA wants MLB to rename the 'bullpen' to 'arm barn'

3:25pm October 29, 2021

by Tien Le

A day before Game 3 of the World Series, the animal rights organization released a statement saying the term "bullpen" is insensitive to cows and bulls. The suggestion drew mixed reactions.

A polar bear eats a pumpkin in the zoo in Hanover, Germany, 26 October 2017. Pumpkins are a source of enrichment for the animals and a way to draw visitors to the zoos.

National

It's not Halloween without some zoo animals smashing pumpkins

2:42pm October 28, 2021

by Nell Clark

From elephants to otters to armadillos, all sorts of animals get a kick out stomping, rolling and eating the orange gourds.

Sorry arachnophobes, you have more in common with spiders than you thought

4:55pm October 27, 2021

Although spiders are sometimes thought of as being creepy crawly animals, new evidence suggests some get scared and assess danger in almost the same way as humans.

An elderly pug has declared it a Bones Day Era and the internet is happy

4:43pm October 25, 2021

13-year-old Noodle the pug and his owner Jonathan Graziano have taken the internet by storm with their daily predictions on whether it will be a Bones or No Bones day.

"This parasite detaches the fish's tongue, attaches itself to the fish's mouth, and becomes its tongue," the Galveston Island State Park says, describing the parasitic tongue-eating louse.

Science

The tongue-eating louse does exactly what its name suggests

5:15pm October 23, 2021

by Bill Chappell

It's the stuff of nightmares, or science fiction: a parasite that wants to get inside an animal's mouth, where it attacks — and replaces — the tongue.

World News

Poachers killed African elephants for their tusks. So elephants stopped growing them

6:18pm October 22, 2021

During the Mozambican civil war, both sides financed their efforts by poaching elephants for ivory. Now, scientists say that drove some elephants to evolve tusklessness.

We've heard about snakes on a plane. How about snake on a crane?

5:52am October 22, 2021

A video filmed in the Caribbean island of Dominica shows workers, who were clearing part of a rainforest, hoisting an enormous boa constrictor off the ground with the help of construction equipment.

Menari, the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, is seen climbing in her enclosure at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. The zoo announced Thursday that Menari is pregnant with twins.

An endangered Sumatran orangutan at the New Orleans zoo is expecting twins

8:34pm October 21, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The births will be the first for Menari, zoo officials say. She is expected to give deliver the twins sometime this winter.

Drone operators were hoping to find dogs that needed to be rescued from a lava zone on the island of La Palma, Spain. Instead, they found a spray-painted banner that said "The dogs are fine" and was signed "A Team." This still image is from a video sent b

World News

A mysterious 'A Team' just rescued dogs from a volcano's lava zone in La Palma

2:03pm October 21, 2021

by Bill Chappell

A group describing itself as "anonymous animalists" seems to have entered a dangerous area and rescued the dogs, leaving a banner signed by the fictional commando group.