Animals

Study provides most detailed analysis yet of how baleen whales produce sound

5:14pm February 23, 2024

Scientists have long struggled to study how whales produce sound. A new paper in the journal Nature paints the most complete picture yet of how baleen whales produce their iconic, haunting calls.

National

Plans to build a monkey-breeding facility becomes a flashpoint in south Georgia

4:42pm February 23, 2024

by Lynn Hatter

A planned breeding facility in south Georgia would house tens of thousands of monkeys for research. It's now getting pushback from residents and animal rights activists.

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China says it plans to send a pair of pandas to the San Diego Zoo this year

6:16am February 23, 2024

China started sending Pandas to the U.S. as a gesture of friendship in 1972. The bears have been a huge draw for the zoos where they've lived.

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Science

How one tech startup aims to disrupt the market for illegal rhino horns

4:25pm February 22, 2024

Could the same economic forces that helped propel lab-grown diamonds and lab-grown meat forward help a startup end illegal rhino poaching? The answer is elusive.

Bai Yun, the mother of newly named panda cub, Mei Sheng, gets a mouthful of bamboo during the cub's first day on display at the San Diego Zoo on Dec. 17, 2003. China is working on sending a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo.

China says it plans to send more pandas to the San Diego Zoo this year

3:31am February 22, 2024

by The Associated Press

In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping raised hopes his country would start sending pandas to the U.S. again after he and President Joe Biden convened in Northern California.

Scientists in the Florida Keys haven't had great success revitalizing coral reefs

5:44pm February 21, 2024

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Katey Lesneski, research coordinator for coral restoration at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. She's been checking on restored corals, which struggled in 2023.

A Gila monster is displayed at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Dec. 14, 2018. Gila monster bites are often painful to humans, but normally aren't deadly, experts say.

National

A Colorado man is dead after a pet Gila monster bite

12:58am February 21, 2024

by The Associated Press

Christopher Ward was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on Feb. 12. He was soon placed on life support and died Friday, Lakewood police said Tuesday.

Great apes use humor just like humans do, researchers discover

5:10am February 19, 2024

Researchers say great apes demonstrate an appreciation for humor and play much like humans do.

Why were aquarium workers surprised to find out Charlotte is pregnant?

7:29am February 16, 2024

Charlotte is a stingray that lives in a North Carolina aquarium. She shares a tank with sharks, but hasn't been near a male stingray in years. Experts believe it's a rare case of asexual reproduction.

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Chris Dollar steers his boat on the Ware River in Gloucester, Virginia in September. A charter fishing captain and conservation advocate, Dollar said he sees fewer fish in the bay and its tributaries than he used to. Schools of menhaden that used to be "the size of a football field" have shrunk to "maybe a tennis court," he said.

A small fish is at the center of a big fight in the Chesapeake Bay

10:21am February 14, 2024

by Katherine Hafner

Recreational fishermen and conservation groups worry overfishing for menhaden threatens the Chesapeake Bay. Industry says current data doesn't support shutting down the more than century-old fishery.

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