Polar bears and wolves may get the glory, but small predators like weasels, foxes and their cousins play outsized ecological roles. And many of these species are declining fast.
Moose, a mixed-breed dog from the Nebraska Humane Society, trains in odor-detection work.
Bill Cotton/CSU
Scientists are experimenting with using dogs to sniff out people infected with COVID-19. But dogs aren’t the only animals with a nose for disease.
What South Africa’s West Coast might have looked like 5 million years ago. In the foreground, a giant wolverine feeds on a pig while chasing away a primitive hyena.
Maggie Newman, Geological Society of South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand
Curator of Cenozoic Palaeontology, Research and Exhibitions, Iziko Museums of South Africa; Honorary Research associate Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town