Animals

Science

Marine Biologist Eugenie Clark Remembered As Passionate Shark Advocate

9:42pm February 26, 2015

During a career that spanned almost 75 years, Dr. Eugenie Clark was one of the world's foremost marine biologists and defender of sharks. Clark died Wednesday at the age of 92.

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Gerbils Likely Pushed Plague To Europe in Middle Ages

9:43am February 26, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

Shifts in climate in the Middle Ages likely drove bubonic plague bacteria from gerbils in Asia to people in Europe, research now suggests. Rats don't deserve all the blame.

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South Korea Cafe Lets Patrons Hang Out With Sheep

7:52am February 26, 2015

You may have heard of cat cafes — a spot where you can have coffee and play with resident cats. And now in the South Korean capital Seoul, there's a sheep cafe.

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The European eagle owl, like this one from the Mulhouse Zoo in eastern France, is one of the largest owl species, with a wingspan of about 6 feet.

An Owl Is Attacking And Injuring Residents Of A Netherlands Town

7:42pm February 25, 2015

by Hannah Bloch

Drones aren't the only airborne worry in Europe this week. An aggressive owl is terrorizing the Dutch town of Purmerend. Hormones, perhaps? Or maybe it's just hungry.

In Africa, land that borders forests is increasingly used for farming.

Good News: More Crops! Bad News: More Plague!

7:40pm February 23, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Tiny patches of Tanzanian farmland contain more rats than do nearby forests. These rats are more likely to carry the bacteria that cause the plague in humans.

Professional trapper Dan Eaton starts to release a coyote after it was fitted with a GPS collar. University of Georgia biologists will track the animal for two years as part of a study of Southern coyotes.

Catching A Southern Coyote, Then Letting It Go In The Name Of Science

6:40pm February 23, 2015

by Grant Blankenship

Coyotes in the Deep South live among a mosaic of agricultural fields and woods but little wilderness. A new study uses tracking collars to understand how these animals thrive in three Southern states.

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Scientists Find Sneaky Way To Check Penguins' Vital Signs

11:49am February 23, 2015

Emperor penguins are so shy their heart rates go up when researchers get near enough to check their vital signs. Scientists came up with a way to approach remotely: a rover, disguised as baby penguin.

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Utah Courthouse Goes Batty

11:49am February 23, 2015

At a courthouse in St. George, Utah, people got a pretty timely surprise for Halloween. Employees discovered 50 bats when they arrived for work. Amazingly everyone just kept working.

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A blue whale is seen in Timor waters in an undated photo. The marine mammal buttresses Cope's rule, the notion that over the course of evolution, most animals tend to get bigger.

Science

For The Evolution Of Marine Creatures, Bigger Is Better, Study Says

12:02am February 21, 2015

by Scott Neuman

A new study published in Science looked at thousands of marine animals over a 540-million-year evolutionary span. Their conclusion: Most of them got larger.

Pain Really Is All In Your Head And Emotion Controls Intensity

2:57pm February 19, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Humiliation, fear and unpredictability all turn up the volume on pain, research shows. And meditation can turn down pain's intensity, according to scientists who are starting to figure out why.

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