Animals

Captain Fantastic is one of the many adoptable dogs at Richmond's Animal Care And Control in Richmond, Va.

National

Animal Love: How A Shelter Director Is Saving The Lives Of Cats And Dogs

8:11am February 05, 2017

More cats and dogs are getting adopted than ever before at the Richmond, Va., government-run animal shelter. The shelter director explains their strategy to reduce euthanasia and boost adoptions.

Mike McCloskey, his cousin Manuel Perez (left), and one of their co-workers on a beach at the edge of their new farm in Puerto Rico. McCloskey and Perez played on this beach as children.

Chasing A Dream Built On Dairy, This Master Of Milk Came Home

3:47pm February 04, 2017

by Dan Charles

For one of the biggest and most successful dairymen in America, success was based in part on crossing cultural boundaries. Now, he has returned home to continue building his empire of milk.

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Science

'Pretty Disgusting Snot-Like Spit' Lets Frogs Catch Their Prey

7:57am February 04, 2017

Frog tongues are super soft and wrap around their prey while secreting a sticky spit that changes consistency. Alexis Noel of Georgia Tech tells NPR's Scott Simon how she studied the amphibians.

Caltech aerospace professor Soon-Jo Chung holds the 'Bat Bot' flying robot, which mimics the flight patterns of the actual animal.

'Bat Bot' Flying Robot Mimics 'Ridiculously Stupid' Complexity Of Bat Flight

4:16pm February 03, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Robotics experts at Caltech and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have created a robot that mimics the flight patterns of bats, including swerving and diving.

VIDEO: When Humans Got Cozy, Germs Got Deadly

3:02pm February 02, 2017

Our first germs didn't do much damage, until we gave up our hunter-gatherer ways and started farming. Episode 1 of a three-part animated miniseries on the battle between humans and germs.

Tourist And Octopus Tangle Over Camera And Selfie Stick

6:30am February 02, 2017

In Andries Bik's online video, you see him explaining that he'd found something in the water. He dips his selfie stick and camera down to get a close up of an octopus — which wouldn't let go of it.

A marker for Groundhog Day describes the process.

National

Groundhog Day: Bringing The Celebration Out Of The Shadows

1:19am February 02, 2017

by Cecilia Mazanec

Each year on Feb. 2, a few groundhogs — the most famous of which is Punxsutawney Phil — tell the nation what weather to expect in the coming weeks. It may be one of America's strangest traditions.

National

Westminster Dog Show Opens Up Competition To Cats

12:36am February 02, 2017

For the first time in its 140-year history, cats will now compete in the Westminster Dog Show.

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This stone marten knocked out power to the $7 billion Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in November 2016 when it touched a 18,000-volt transformer.

World's Most Destructive Stone Marten Goes On Display In The Netherlands

6:19pm February 01, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The carcass of a marten that shut down the $7 billion Large Hadron Collider last year is the most recent addition to a Dutch exhibit of animals that have had notable interactions with humans.

Cat breeder Anthony Hutcherson shows off a Bengal Cat on Monday in New York. The Bengal Cat will be featured at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in a non-competitive "meet the breeds" exhibition, where cats will be shown for the first time.

National

Westminster Dog Show Welcomes New Species — Cats

6:13pm February 01, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Yes, you read that right – this month, cats will make an appearance at the Westminster Dog Show. It's a break from 141 years of tradition.