Animals

National

4 horses die at Churchill Downs ahead of the Kentucky Derby

4:13pm May 05, 2023

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Joe Drape of The New York Times about the recent racehorse deaths that have occurred at Churchill Downs in the week ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

A swarm of bees delays a Delta Airlines flight from Houston to Atlanta

6:28am May 05, 2023

Pest control was called, but workers weren't allowed to spray the plane. Eventually the bees left after the plane's engines were fired up. Wednesday's flight was delayed nearly four hours.

The San Joaquin River has spread far beyond its banks as the snowpack melts in California's Sierra Nevada.

Environment

The latest to be evacuated from California's floods? Bunnies

2:25pm May 04, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

Rising rivers are stranding endangered riparian brush rabbits in California. Wildlife officials are searching out and relocating hundreds of them to help protect the species.

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National

A giant rat that wasn't suited for its bomb-sniffing job gets a new role

4:38pm May 03, 2023

A Gambian rat who was training to be a landmine detector arrived at the San Diego Zoo a few weeks ago. She's better suited to her new role as a rat ambassador.

National

A duck gives a homeless man a new lease on life

4:20pm May 02, 2023

by Frank Morris

A wayward duck helped a man in crisis and opened up a whole world of wildlife, death and reproduction he never imagined he would find in a Kansas City creek.

National

How a wayward duck changed a Kansas City homeless man's life

5:25am May 02, 2023

by Frank Morris

When Dave Hughes lost his job and his place to live, he found refuge living under a bridge on Brush Creek in the middle of Kansas City, Mo. Then an ostracized duck gave him a new lease on life.

Saving endangered bunnies from floods in California

4:26pm May 01, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

A wet winter in California has helped many plants and animals, but some species are struggling. An effort is underway to relocate endangered rabbits to higher ground.

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The sculpture of the walrus Freya is unveiled in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday. Freya was euthanized by the Directorate of Fisheries in August 2022.

World News

Norway unveils a life-size sculpture of Freya, the euthanized walrus

8:12am May 01, 2023

by The Associated Press

Freya became a global celebrity last year after she was seen frolicking and basking in a Oslo fjord before she was euthanized by the authorities. A bronze sculpture now honors her in Norway's capital.

Rabbits are rescued from floodwaters on San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge

5:02am May 01, 2023

by Lauren Sommer

A wet winter in California has helped many plants and animals, but some species are struggling. An effort is underway to relocate endangered rabbits to higher ground.

Sixth graders from Habu Primary School in Botswana on a safari. The trip is the high point of a multi-pronged effort by the nonprofit Wild Entrust to resolve a chronic conflict between rural villagers and the wild animals that destroy their crops.

Health & Safety

Elephants are a menace for these 6th graders. Then they went on a safari ...

10:18am April 30, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

Botswana has one of the last thriving elephant herds – and a history of human-elephant conflict that threatens both sides. A nonprofit has a program to shift that dynamic. Will it work?

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