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
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
Tim Caro, University of California, Davis and Martin How, University of Bristol
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.
More than 620 million years of evolution separate crows from humans, but the birds show that they can plan three steps ahead.
Romana Gruber
New Caledonian crows are famous for using tools to reach a reward. Now scientists have confirmed they can plan several steps ahead, like a chess player contemplating a series of moves.
The Giant Sea Bass at the California Academy of Sciences. Fishes'sense of smell is highly affected by high level of carbon dioxide in the ocean.
Togabi/Wikimedia
Increase of carbon dioxide in the ocean affects the way fish detect predators, mates or food and could threaten not only individual fish but entire populations.
A domestic cat grooming its fur.
Image courtesy of Candler Hobbs (Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta).
Domestic cats spend a quarter of their waking hours grooming. But that tongue action on the fur does more than keep fur clean – it also helps keep a cat cool.