Animals

By the turn of the 20th century, America's love affair with Diamondback Terrapin soup — a subsistence food turned gourmet fare — had left the turtle's population teetering. Booze ban to the rescue.

It took a week, but wildlife officials in Chicago say they've finally captured a 5-foot-long alligator nicknamed Chance the Snapper. The gator surprised city residents who spotted it in Humboldt Park.

"It was the size of my body, and it was the best thing I've ever done," says biologist and wildlife host Lizzie Daly.

New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl astonishes with her essays, a woven tapestry that makes one of all the world's beings that strive to live — and, in one way or another, face mortality.

The alligator was spotted in a city park on Tuesday but has so far managed to evade capture, despite the efforts of a local wrangler known as Alligator Bob.

A 4-to-5 foot alligator was spotted in Humboldt Park Lagoon in Chicago earlier this week. It has evaded capture and now a social media contest is underway to name the gator.

In a joint operation organized by the World Customs Organization and Interpol, thousands of protected animals, plants and wildlife products were seized in more than 100 countries.

An avid eagle watcher in Redding, Calif., discovered a baby hawk being raised in an eagle's nest. The sight is so rare, one scientist dropped everything to come and observe the new family.

A new study finds that Snowball, a dancing cockatoo, has a repertoire of at least 14 different dance moves, suggesting that the predisposition to dance is embedded in our animal brains.

An animal rescue hospital retrieved the bird and discovered it was a regular seagull which had somehow gotten covered in curry or turmeric.

A visitor to an aquarium snapped a photo of a pink sea star clinging to a rock. The way it was hanging made its flesh droop in a way that looks like a very large rear end.

Biologists say invasive green iguanas have been spreading in Florida, and they're a major nuisance. The state encourages homeowners to kill iguanas on their property.