Animals

This Bat Knows How To Drink

The Pallas' long-tongued bat has a neat trick at the tip of its tongue — tiny hairlike structures that fill with blood and stand straight out. This turns the tongue into a nectar-slurping mop at just the right time.

Navy Sonar Criticized For Harming Marine Mammals

The U.S. Navy is planning to expand training exercises off California and Hawaii, citing the need for military readiness. That's raising concerns about threatened whales and marine mammals, because sonar is known harm and, in some cases, kill them. The state of California is fighting the Navy's plan.

The Bird That Struts Its Stuff

The Greater sage-grouse is a large bird that makes its living in sagebrush habitats across the western U.S. and Canada. Every year at this time, male sage-grouse perform a striking dance routine each morning at dawn. Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, breaks down the dance and describes challenges the birds face in Utah.

Great Salt Lake Is No 'Dead Sea'

Parts of Utah's Great Salt Lake are 10 times saltier than the ocean. But the lake is host to plenty of life, including salt-loving microbes that can turn the lake's water bubblegum pink. Bonnie Baxter, director of the Great Salt Lake, discusses how the bugs might hold the secrets to better sunscreen, hydrogen fuel cells--even life on Mars.