Animals

The male Asian subterranean termite (brown abdomen) and the female Formosan subterranean termite (orange abdomen) are surrounded by their hybrid offspring (eggs, larvae, workers, soldiers) in an eight-month-old colony.

'Super-Termite' Could Be Even More Destructive Than Parent Species

3:19pm March 30, 2015

by Greg Allen

In South Florida, the world's two most destructive termite species could be mating because of climate change. Researchers say if the hybrids colonize, they could pose an even greater economic threat.

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The Galla goat is a secret weapon in efforts to cope with climate change.

World News

Heat Tolerant, Tough Teeth, Lots Of Milk — They're Supergoats!

11:34am March 29, 2015

by Natasha Gilbert

A hardy breed is helping farmers in one Kenyan village cope with climate change — and put more food on the table.

John Hargrove, a trainer who spent 14 years working with orcas, mostly at SeaWorld, eventually became disillusioned with the company's treatment of its killer whales.

Former Orca Trainer For SeaWorld Condemns Its Practices

9:12pm March 28, 2015

John Hargrove says he left SeaWorld after seeing "devastating effects of captivity" on orcas. His new book is Beneath The Surface. SeaWorld's Christopher Dold says such criticism is "unfounded."

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One possible result in the Mighty Mini Mammals division of 2015's Mammal March Madness tournament. If the species that's seeded highest always wins its bracket, the fennec fox will beat out the rest of the division and advance to the final four.

Science

Could A Quokka Beat A Numbat? Oddsmakers Say Yes

7:05pm March 28, 2015

by Adam Cole

In "Mammal March Madness," you win or die. No basketball in this tournament — it's a simulated survival-of-the-fittest game set up by evolutionary biologists. The battle cry? Mammals suck ... milk!

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Science

Birder Finds Panama Packed With Species, But No Harpy Eagles

10:56am March 28, 2015

There are more species of birds in Panama than all of North America. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Ray Brown, host of the radio program Talkin' Birds, who just returned from the country.

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Phoenix Zoo Misidentifies Gender Of Andean Bear

8:03am March 23, 2015

For two years, the zoo said Luka was a male when the bear was really a female. The zoo explained that it's difficult to identify the sex of juvenile Andean bears.

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So far this month, more than 330 California sea lions have been admitted to the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif.

Record Number Of Stranded Sea Lion Pups Strains California Resources

7:58pm March 20, 2015

by Nathan Rott

An uptick in malnourished pups on the coast has rescue centers struggling to keep up. Changing weather patterns and warmer ocean waters could be to blame, but it's still too early to tell.

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University of Arizona entomologist Justin Schmidt was stung well over 1,000 times while creating the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.

Science

No Pain, No Scientific Gain: One Man's Quest To Quantify Bug Stings

7:03pm March 20, 2015

by NPR Staff

How much does a bee sting hurt, exactly? How about a bullet ant bite? An entomologist has built an index ranking insect stings — after getting stung more than 1,000 times.

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Free-range houses allow chickens to move around freely, but operating costs were 23 percent higher than for traditional cages, according to a new study.

Cramped Chicken Cages Are Going Away. What Comes Next?

3:57pm March 19, 2015

by Dan Charles

The results are in from a long-running study of three different ways to house egg-laying chickens. It found that more hens survive in cages, and cages are cheaper. But consumers prefer cage-free eggs.

Hundreds of adult wood storks gather on the tops of trees at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge.

Old Land Battle Resurfaces In Georgia Between The Gullah And The Government

4:19pm March 18, 2015

by Gabrielle Ware

The Gullah people, who are descendants of West African slaves, want to return to land the U.S. government took away during World War II. But the land has been a wildlife refuge for 40 years.

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