Animals

Thousands of snow geese take flight near Conway, Wash. in 2019. The Biden administration is reversing a policy under President Trump that drastically weakened protections for most U.S. bird species.

Biden Moves To Make It Illegal (Again) To Accidentally Kill Migratory Birds

5:55pm March 09, 2021

by Nathan Rott

The changes will restore protections that were taken away under former president Donald Trump. But they will take time, and wildlife advocates say many bird species already face a risk of extinction.

Politics & Government

Incidental Killings Of Migratory Birds Will Go Unpunished For Now

7:43am March 09, 2021

by Nathan Rott

The Biden administration is moving to restore protections for migratory birds. It's the latest step to reverse a number of environmental rollbacks under former President Donald Trump.

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National

Cloning Of Ferret Could Help Prevent Other Animals' Extinction

5:16am March 09, 2021

by Michael Elizabeth Sakas

In Colorado, scientists have cloned the first endangered species native to North America: a black-footed ferret. They hope their new technology might help keep other species from going extinct.

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A cuttlefish swims in an aquarium at the Scientific Center of Kuwait in 2016. Cuttlefish showed impressive self-control in an adaptation of the classic "marshmallow test."

Science

Why Cuttlefish Are Smarter Than We Thought

8:33am March 07, 2021

by James Doubek

Cuttlefish, the squishy sea creatures, showed impressive self-control in an experiment. It means they have something in common with primates.

Wisdom, a mōlī or Laysan albatross, and the world's oldest known banded wild bird, hatched a new chick at Midway Atoll on Feb. 1.

Wisdom The Albatross, Now 70, Hatches Yet Another Chick

12:52pm March 05, 2021

by Bill Chappell

"Each year that Wisdom returns, we learn more about how long seabirds can live and raise chicks," said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Beth Flint.

Pet Owner Is Reunited With Cat 15 Years After She Ran Away

5:52am March 04, 2021

A Los Angeles man adopted Brandy, and one day she didn't come home. A microchip in the cat had the owner's phone number, but nobody called until recently when she turned up at a shelter 40 miles away.

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Utahraptor skull reconstruction by Rob Gaston of Gaston Design incorporating some material from the Utahraptor megablock.

Science

Utah Considers State Park Named For Utahraptor Dinosaur

6:25pm March 02, 2021

by Jan Johnson

Utah is considering naming a new park in honor of dinosaurs discovered there. Researchers expect to uncover more Utahraptor bones — provided they can get them out of a massive block of rock.

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The red-cockaded woodpecker has been listed as endangered for more than half a century.

National

How The Military Helped Bring Back The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

9:50am March 02, 2021

by Jay Price

The U.S. military and conservation groups forged an unusual alliance to help save the red-cockaded woodpecker, but a Trump-era move to take it off the endangered list could threaten the bird.

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A herd of goats in Russia ponders ... well, we can't really know what they're pondering, but it's a safe bet they're interested in finding something to eat.

Health & Safety

How Goats (And Perhaps People) Make Up Their Minds

1:58pm February 27, 2021

by Marc Silver

How does a herd decide which direction to head in? Researchers put GPS collars on a gathering of goats to find out. Here's what they learned — and how it might apply to humans.

This coyote was one of several collared by wildlife biologists monitoring their behavior in the Bay Area headlands. Authorities are trying to catch an unusually bold coyote in the East Bay responsible for attacks on humans.

Search For Coyote Continues After Several Attacks In The San Francisco Bay Area

8:01am February 27, 2021

by Eric Westervelt

At least five people have reported being bitten. The unusual behavior has residents worried and wildlife authorities working overtime to capture the animal.