Animals

The wild population of the golden lion tamarin, which lives only in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, fell to just 200 in the 1970s. Conservationists have helped the species rebound, but the monkeys are still at risk as development encroaches on their remaining h

Beloved Brazilian Monkey Clings To A Shrinking Forest

11:15am September 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

Brazil's Atlantic Forest, home to the golden lion tamarin, was once a massive ecosystem stretching along the Brazilian coast. But centuries of human activity have encroached upon the forest, leaving the future of this tiny, lion-maned monkey in doubt.

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The black, long-horned Camargue bull is just one of two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. The bulls are shown here at the Roman arena in Arles, southern France.

World News

In France's Camargue, Bulls Are A Passion And A Way Of Life

8:00pm September 14, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

The marshy wetlands of the Camargue in southern France are rich in wildlife and folklore. But the region's most stunning icons roams free here: the Camargue bull, one of Europe's last two breeds of fighting bulls. The creatures are taunted and teased, respected and revered.

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An image from an electron microscope of the back legs of a planthopper insect.

Science

Living Gears Help This Bug Jump

1:21pm September 13, 2013

by Adam Cole

Planthoppers are champion jumpers — launching themselves upward, hundreds of times their own height, in just a couple of milliseconds. They achieve this feat with the help of cog-like teeth on their legs — the first mechanical gear system ever found in nature.

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Jamesport has the largest Amish community in Missouri, and horse-pulled buggies are often parked alongside cars. Horse owners in the state are divided over whether to allow horses to be killed for meat in the U.S.

National

Pets Or Livestock? A Moral Divide Over Horse Slaughter

7:30pm September 11, 2013

by Frank Morris

Horse slaughter is banned in the U.S., but thousands of American horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter every year. Investors argue restarting the practice in the U.S. would be better for business and offer a more humane end for horses that are neglected under the current model.

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Lauren Henderson and her service dog, Phoebe, in Los Angeles. Henderson says she's seeing more dogs in vests that don't appear to be legitimate service dogs.

Four-Legged Impostors Give Service Dog Owners Pause

7:54am September 11, 2013

by Lisa Napoli

People who lack special needs but simply want to keep their pets with them all the time can easily find fake "service animal" certifications on the Web. But those phony credentials can create problems for people with disabilities who legitimately need trained service dogs.

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Members of S. A. Andrée's 1897 journey survey their downed vessel. This photo was recovered from a camera when their remains were found 33 years later.

From The Fall Of Failure, Success Can Take Flight

6:26pm September 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

Risking and embracing failure is part of the job for explorers and adventurers like aeronaut Salomon August Andrée. His fatal attempt at reaching the North Pole motivated others to push their own limits. The September issue of National Geographic investigates "famous failures" and why they mattered.

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Mated pairs of red-crowned cranes perform a "unison call," a complex and extended series of calls between the male and female that reinforces the pair bond.

Science

Answering The Cranes' Call: 40 Years Of Preserving Grace

6:26pm September 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

Cranes are elegant and endangered. For four decades, the International Crane Foundation has focused on their conservation. NPR's Jacki Lyden talks to one of the organization's co-founders, George Archibald, about a life spent researching his feathered friends all around the world.

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Feral hogs were once just a rural problem in Texas, but now they threaten to turn city parks into sties.

National

Hired Hog Trapper Has Three Years To Clean Out Dallas

6:26pm September 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

Feral hogs have been a growing problem in Texas for years now. The 300-pound animals contaminate the water and ruin the parks, so Dallas is bringing in Osvaldo Rojas to keep the city pig-free.

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Enough With Baby Talk; Infants Learn From Lemur Screeches, Too

9:26am September 05, 2013

by Geoffrey Brumfiel

Even infants too young to discern the meaning of words seem better able to learn while listening to the sound of human speech than while listening to nonsense — speech run backward. Little surprise there, perhaps, but a study shows that recordings of lemur calls spark learning, too.

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Woman Waits 8 Years To Get Diamond After Chicken Ate It

10:54am September 03, 2013

After her pet chicken ate a diamond earring, a woman in England decided to wait until the bird died to get her jewelry back. The earring could have been removed surgically but she was afraid the chicken wouldn't survive.

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