Animals

One of the Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle hatchlings bred at the San Diego Zoo.

After years of waiting, rare turtles have bred 41 hatchlings at the San Diego Zoo

5:01am October 04, 2022

by James Doubek

The Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle is considered endangered. The zoo is the first accredited organization in North America to hatch and raise the species that's native to South Asia.

Wild boar Frieda eats next to a cow Thursday in a pasture in Holzminden, Germany.

World News

A piglet left behind by its herd finds a new family with some cattle

12:21pm September 30, 2022

by The Associated Press

Wild boars have a reputation for destruction, but farmer Friedrich Stapel told a news agency that he can't bear to chase away the piglet, which he's named Frieda. It'll winter with his mother cows.

Monica Medina, assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs is pictured on Sept. 20 in New York City. She will take on additional responsibilities as an envoy on biodiversity and water resources.

Threats to water and biodiversity are linked. A new U.S. envoy role tackles them both

8:40am September 30, 2022

by Joe Hernandez

"The loss of nature and rising water insecurity are global health threats that must be confronted together," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

10-year-old girl who fled Ukraine is reunited with her cat named Arsenii

6:43am September 30, 2022

Thanks to the kindness of a network of animal rescuers, Arsenii was vaccinated, microchipped and given a passport. After many months and 7,000 miles of travel, Agnessa and her cat have been reunited.

Dogs really do know when we're stressed. They can smell it on us

5:48am September 29, 2022

Researchers at Queen's University Belfast collected samples of human breath and sweat from volunteers working on a math problem. The pups could detect stressed-out samples with more than 90% accuracy.

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National

A Montana woman bragged about killing a wolf pup. It was actually a husky

5:36pm September 28, 2022

by Aaron Bolton

Montana has launched a criminal investigation after a woman bragged on social media about killing a wolf. That's legal under certain circumstances, but the "wolf' turned out to be a Siberian husky.

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Conservationists are celebrating the comeback of Kemp's ridley sea turtles

5:54am September 28, 2022

The world's smallest and most endangered sea turtle is back on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. It's been 75 years since Kemp's Ridley sea turtles were last seen on a remote barrier island.

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Digital creator Kyana Sue Powers says residents of Vestmannaeyjar treat puffling season as a regular part of life. "It's just what you do, it's as normal to do as recycling cans," she told NPR.

Why it's perfectly normal to see baby puffins thrown off cliffs in Iceland each year

4:02pm September 26, 2022

by Halisia Hubbard

Throwing thousands of baby puffins off a cliff is a yearly tradition for the people of Iceland's Westman Islands. It's part of what's known as "puffling season" and is a crucial life-saving endeavor.

This hi-tech buoy can detect whales and prevent large ships from colliding with them

4:51pm September 23, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Professor Douglas McCauley, director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, about a new technology that protects whales from colliding with large shipping vessels.

Monkey thieves, drunk elephants — Mary Roach reveals a weird world of animal 'crime'

1:25pm September 23, 2022

by Dave Davies

Roach researched animal misbehaviors for her book, Fuzz. She says animals tend to ignore the rules we try to impose on them — and they often have the last laugh. Originally broadcast Sept. 14, 2021.

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