Animals

Science

Scientist Discover A Clever Trick Bumblebees Use To Make Flowers Bloom Earlier

3:50pm May 21, 2020

New research published on Thursday shows that bumblebees make small moon-shaped incisions in plants' leaves — and those damaged plants appear to flower earlier than plants the bees don't visit.

Queue Listen Now

Education

The Fate Of Classroom Pets Becomes Uncertain During The Pandemic

3:45pm May 19, 2020

When schools around the country shut down due to the coronavirus, classroom pets have been displaced from their usual homes. Now, parents and teachers are figuring out what to do with all the animals.

Queue Listen Now

The Dally family doesn't consider Frisky a demanding house guest.

Who'll Take The Tortoise? What Happens To Classroom Pets During The Lockdown

12:22pm May 19, 2020

by Sarah Stacke

A photojournalist checks in on the critters — including Holly the tortoise and Frisky the frog — who have relocated from her son's Brooklyn school during the pandemic.

Labrador Retriever Receives Honorary Degree From Virginia Tech

6:58am May 19, 2020

Moose, an eight-year-old Lab, received an honorary degree in veterinary medicine from Virginia Tech last week. He earned the "dog-torate" after six years of service as a therapy dog at the university.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

COVID-19 Researchers Look Into Llama's Special Antibodies

5:02am May 19, 2020

The global search for a treatment targeting the coronavirus has led to an unlikely potential savior: a cocoa-colored llama named Winter, whose blood could hold a weapon to blunt the virus.

Queue Listen Now

Penguins were allowed to waddle through the galleries of Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Both the museum and the Kansas City Zoo — home to the penguins — have been closed because of the pandemic.

WATCH: Missouri Penguins Enjoy 'Morning Of Fine Art' At Local Museum

6:54pm May 15, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

The birds were allowed to waddle through the galleries of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Both the museum and the Kansas City Zoo, which is home to the penguins, have been closed due to the pandemic.

No Buts About It, Bull Is Responsible For Scottish Town's Power Outage

6:19am May 15, 2020

The culprit was Ron, a four-year-old bull suffering from what his owner describes as an "itchy bum." Hoping to scratch the itch, Ron rubbed up against a utility pole, knocking out a transformer box.

With meatpacking plants reducing processing capacity nationwide, U.S. hog farmers are bracing or an unprecedented crisis: the need to euthanize millions of pigs.

Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants

7:37am May 14, 2020

by Tim Mak

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the meat industry, hog farmers anticipate they'll soon be forced to euthanize millions of pigs unable to be sent for processing.

Queue Listen Now

Quarantine Cat Film Fest Aims To Raise Money For Indie Theaters

7:07am May 12, 2020

The festival will take cat videos from the Internet to the silver screen. Brian Mendelssohn is creating a streaming showcase of the best videos to raise money for indie theaters closed by COVID-19.

Queue Listen Now

Bear Breaks Into Rental Cabin And Finds Candy, Lots Of Candy

6:24am May 12, 2020

A black bear got in the back door of a cabin in Tennessee. Three others lingered on the porch. In the cabin: 5 pounds of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a pound of M&M's and 2 pounds of Sour Patch Kids.

Queue Listen Now