A Californian sea lion swims behind empty seats in its enclosure at a zoo in Berlin, April 4 2020.
EPA-EFE/CLEMENS BILAN
One aquarium in Japan has asked the public to make video calls to captive garden eels so they don’t forget about human visitors.
Ben Burville
Clapping underwater takes real strength. But wild grey seals can do it, to warn off competitors and attract potential mates.
The male bluehead wrasse defends his group of yellow females, one of whom has to step-up and take charge if he leaves.
Kevin Bryant
When a male bluehead wrasse is removed from the group he dominates, the largest female changes sex, rapidly transforming ovaries into sperm-producing testes. Molecular research shows how.
Jonatan Pie/Unsplash
Not all pets will make good house cats, but there are ways to make a life indoors more fulfilling.
Boris Smokrovic/Unsplash
Prey species rely on camouflage and escape to avoid getting eaten. How can they make them work together?
Stylish? No. Effective? Probably not.
Tony Wills/Wikimedia Commons
Magpie attacks aren’t as common as you (and the media) might think. But here are a few tricks to get you through swooping season unscathed - and a few classic tactics that don’t work.
Therizinosaurs and their fossilised eggs.
Mark Witton/Kohei Tanaka
New research suggests some dinosaurs buried and protected eggs in groups.
A wild leopard seal on South Georgia.
James Robbins
Cooperation or theft? New observations show wild leopard seals sharing food when targeting king penguins in Antarctica.
Hurricanehank/Shutterstock
Understanding happiness in chickens could tell us how to improve their housing.
Nests are not for sleep. They are for babies.
Flickr/Anna Hesser
We need to understand what a swallow’s nest is really for – and it is not mainly for sleeping.
The moon covers much of the sun during the total solar eclipse, in Merlo, San Luis, Argentina, July 2 2019.
EPA-EFE/NICO AGUILERA
While the world gathers to see an eclipse, what’s the rest of nature doing?
Some lizards such as geckos can self-amputate their tails when threatened - these limbs can keep twitching for up to 30 minutes, creating a distraction and allowing the lizard to escape.
Shutterstock
Why do some animals amputate their own limbs? Turns out, there’s a whole bunch of reasons why this strategy has evolved.
Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock
Parents want their children to be kind to animals, but a hug looks very different to a frightened dog.
Soloviova Liudmyla / shutterstock
If you’re having a bad month, your dog probably is too.
Erwan Theleste
The discovery sheds light on how early humans evolved larger brains and the ability to eat meat.
Both male and female Tasmanian devils can become very violent during sexual interactions.
Shutterstock/PARFENOV
Tasmanian Devils can be incredibly aggressive during mating season and their biting can have fatal consequences.
The personality of a pet owner can help a veterinarian understand the health and welfare of the pet.
Shutterstock/PM Production
Pets can be influenced by the personality traits of their owners, something veterinarians could use to help them diagnoise any pet problems.
Szasz-Fabian Jozsef/Shutterstock
The mouse who tidied the shed he lives in fascinated human viewers, but cleanliness isn’t a virtue unique to humans.
Ari Wid / shutterstock
Our closest relatives show distinct cultural behaviour in different populations. But those differences are being erased.
Scientific testing has zeroed in on the advantages of a zebra’s striped coat.
Tim Caro
How the zebra got its stripes is not only a just-so story, but an object of scientific inquiry. New research suggests that stripes help zebras evade biting flies and the deadly diseases they carry.