Plantigrade Pastry Purloiner Persnickety
A Colorado bakery recently found itself relieved of 24 pies in an overnight heist. But the ursine rapine left one type of tart behind.
Animals
A Siberian Town Throws A Party For Pests — And Masochists
Many towns hold festivals to celebrate a famed native son or daughter, or its dominant agricultural product. In Berezniki, Russia, they celebrate mosquitoes — partly by getting bitten by them. A lot.
Stab It With A Dinglehopper! Seagull Goes After Eagle In Alaska
After the raptor snagged a fellow seagull, it had to fend off others of the species to keep its meal.
Puerto Rico's Monkey Island Lures Scientists For Generations
The isle of Cayo Santiago has been home to at least nine generations of rhesus monkeys since the colony's founding in 1938. Primatologists here seek clues to primate kinship, cognition and ecology.
Florida Sea Turtles Stage Amazing Comeback
When scientists first started counting the nests of green sea turtles in one area in the 1980s, they found fewer than 40 nests. In their last check, they counted almost 12,000.
Shark Attacks Still Haunt Residents Of Reunion
Four years after a spike in shark attacks at the French island of Reunion, residents are looking for ways to restore their sense of safety. This story originally aired May 25 on All Things Considered.
Buzz Kill For Bumblebees: Climate Change Is Shrinking Their Range
Wild bees are some of nature's busiest pollinators of crops and flowers. But new evidence suggests a warming climate is squeezing the bounds of where bumblebees can live.
The Furries Have Landed — And Pittsburgh Is Giving Them A Bear Hug
More than a thousand "furries" — fans in full-body animal suits or just fuzzy ears — paraded in the city for the annual Anthrocon. Locals embrace them, not least for the economic benefits they bring.
Classical Composers' Feathered Influences
Did Beethoven cop from a warbler? Did Mozart plagiarize a starling? NPR's Wade Goodwyn speaks with Talkin' Birds host Ray Brown about these musical mysteries.
For This Tarantula-Killing Wasp, Dinner's A Meal Best Served Living
All the recent rain in Texas is great for insects — including the terrifying tarantula hawk. It's a big, nasty wasp that doesn't just sting tarantulas ... it turns them into food for its offspring.