Researchers identified simple behavioral rules that allow these tiny creatures to collaboratively build elaborate structures, with no one in charge.
Tabatha Bundesen’s pet Tardar Sauce became an Internet sensation known as “Grumpy Cat” for a resting facial appearance that resembles a look of dissatisfaction. Now, scientists are starting to be able to read animal emotions from their expressions.
(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Scientists are beginning to link animal facial expressions to emotions, making it possible for us to understand how they feel.
It can be easier to raise money to aid animals like these African elephants than species that are more threatened with extinction but get humans less excited.
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Must the money raised to save wildlife always aid the most popular animals? New research suggests that marketing can persuade donors that northern hairy-nosed wombat lives matter too.
A pair of rare sea snakes, thought to be extinct, sighted off Western Australia’s mid-north coast in 2015. Our stunning range of serpents inspire fear, but is that fair?
AAP Image/WA Parks and Wildlife/Grant Griffin
For over a century Australia’s venomous snakes have been counted amongst the world’s deadliest, yet human fatalities remain strikingly rare. How did our snakes develop such a fearsome reputation?
A meerkat at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra. The Zoo has recently announced an expansion that will double its size.
AAP Image/Stefan Postles
A bill has been proposed to ban testing cosmetics on animals in Australia. It will only affect a small number of animals, but it’s an important step towards a global ban.
Lolabelle, the artist and musician Laurie Anderson’s dog being taught how to play the piano.
David Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology et Patricia Yang, Georgia Institute of Technology
New parenthood got our fluid dynamics experts thinking about what ends up in the diaper. They headed to the zoo and the lab to come up with a cohesive physics story for how defecation works.
Searching for animals thought to be extinct – or fictional – is difficult, painstaking and often disappointing. But new technology like drones offer hope of a boom in biological discovery.
One of Hermann Nitsch’s previous works, the Orgies Mysteries Theatre in Italy, 2015.
AAP/Antonio Melita
There is a history of mistreatment of animals in the name of art. But isn’t it about time artists made their point about human domination without themselves asserting dominance over beasts?
Next best thing to a hidey-hole box?
Maggie Villiger
Twitter recently blew up with posts wondering about the feline fascination with taped squares on the ground. An animal behavior expert explains it’s not magic that draws Fluffy to the #CatSquare.
Taking the placenta as a case study, researchers are able to piece together how new organs evolve, by repurposing old tissues and using them to do new jobs.
The US banned trade in salamanders for spreading a disease that threatened wild populations.
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The fascination and admiration of the natural environment may draw people closer to it, but it’s crucial to remain responsible about any desire to own a piece.
Ladybugs stop pests from eating our food and destroying crops.
Flickr/Inhabitat
If we want any future for wild populations of the numerous species traded for pets, exhibits and use in medicines, drastic action is needed to control their international and domestic trade.
Professor, Management and Organizational Studies, Huron University College and Coordinator of Animal Ethics and Sustainability Leadership, Western University