Animals

Mayoral Races Across Mexico Are Turning Into A Zoo

1:13pm June 17, 2013

In Xalapa, a cat named Morris is running with the campaign slogan "Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat!" Candidates in other cities include Chon the Donkey and Tina the Chicken.

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Maine College Students Take On A Bear Of A Study

6:49am June 14, 2013

by Jay Field

The state is trying to keep tabs on its bear population. Undergraduates at Unity College are in the woods tranquilizing bears and collaring them so the state can better understand the animals.

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Science

Fancy Feet: Wild Cheetahs Excel At Acceleration

6:02am June 13, 2013

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Cheetahs don't often hunt at their top speed, scientists are finding. Come mealtime, what matters most is the animals' ability to accelerate and to take tight corners.

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Antonio Basualdo Solorzano has worked at the Ladder Ranch in south-central Wyoming for eight years. On his wages as a guest worker, he's supported seven children back home in Peru.

Immigration Bill May Keep Wage Exemption For Foreign Herders

5:53am June 13, 2013

by Sara Hossaini

Peruvian shepherds on guest worker visas tend thousands of sheep in Wyoming, but they only make about half of what agricultural workers elsewhere are paid. Some ranchers say the exemption from minimum wage requirements is necessary; workers' rights advocates say it's exploitation.

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Massive Bat Cave Stirs Texas-Size Debate Over Development

6:28pm June 11, 2013

by Ryan Loyd

Every night for thousands of years, bats have poured out of the Bracken Cave Reserve, near San Antonio, by the millions. But conservationists are worried that plans for a housing development nearby will disrupt the bats' rural habitat.

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City Life Disrupts Daily Rhythm Of Birds

7:08am June 10, 2013

by Rhitu Chatterjee

City life can be harsh on people. For example, it pushes people to work longer and sleep less. A new study suggests that city life can have a somewhat similar effect on birds too. It shows urban blackbirds wake up earlier and go to bed later than their forest dwelling cousins.

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Ancient Reptile Named After 'Lizard King' Jim Morrison

7:38am June 06, 2013

Though the species is named after twentieth century rock star Jim Morrison, the Doors front-man, it lived in the jungles of Southeast Asia 40 million years ago. The ancient lizard king was a gentle creature who ate only plants.

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Whenever a steer or cow leaves a farm in Michigan or goes to a slaughterhouse, it passes by a tag reader, and its ID number goes to a central computer that keeps track of every animal's location.

Michigan Tracks Cattle From Birth To Plate

10:54am June 04, 2013

by Dan Charles

Would you like to know the life history of that steak before you eat it? Technology exists to give you that information, at least in Michigan, where the state government requires all cattle to carry an electronic tag for tracking purposes.

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Channel-billed toucans are important seed dispersers in rain forests.

Science

Big-Mouthed Toucans Key To Forest Evolution

8:34am May 31, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

As humans have cut into Brazil's forests, the toucan population has taken a dive. The trees, in turn, have changed, too: Without large-billed birds to eat fruit with big seeds, only trees with small seeds thrive. Eventually, one scientist says, "the impacts on the forest could be quite dramatic."

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Scientists Say Species Is Earliest Known Bird

8:19am May 30, 2013

The creature has part bird and part reptile traits. An international team says it should now be considered a bird.

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