Animals

The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after the land was stripped by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Several advocates, including elected leaders, are protesting the move.

Wildlife Advocates Fume Over Army Corps' Razing Of Reserve

7:23pm February 06, 2013

by Gloria Hillard

A 48-acre area in California that housed more than 200 species of birds was stripped bare by the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the land. The Corps says the clearing was necessary to improve flood control and discourage homeless camps and drug dealing, but some are questioning whether the agency violated rules that protect wetlands and waterfowl.

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Out For Lunch? Researchers estimate that billions of birds and small mammals are killed by cats in the U.S. annually.

Science

Killer Kitties? Cats Kill Billions Of Creatures Every Year

2:29pm February 04, 2013

by Véronique LaCapra

There are as many as 47 million pet cats out hunting for prey. Add that to the tens of millions of feral cats and strays, and researchers estimate that the furry felines are responsible for billions of bird and small mammal deaths every year.

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A wood stork soars over its nest in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Myers, Fla., in 2008, as baby wood storks wait in their nest for an adult to bring food.

Wood Stork's Endangered Status Is Up In The Air

6:16pm February 03, 2013

by Greg Allen

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife may upgrade the wood stork's status from "endangered" to "threatened." But some environmentalists and the Audubon Society says that in south Florida, the bird's population is still a long way from reaching a full recovery.

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Science

Dung Beetles Use Cosmic GPS to Find Their Way

1:03pm February 01, 2013

When the sun goes down, dung beetles rely on a galactic source--light from the Milky Way--to navigate, according to a recent report in Current Biology. Study co-author Eric Warrant, of Lund University in Sweden, explains how dung beetles see the starry night sky.

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Science

How Owls Turn Heads

1:03pm February 01, 2013

A mystery of the animal kingdom: how do owls turn their heads 270 degrees without damaging their blood vessels? At last an answer, published this week in Science. Fabian de Kok-Mercado and Philippe Gailloud dissected and x-rayed owls to discover how the birds do the twist.

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Science

Canine Mystery: How Dogs Became Man's Best Friend

1:03pm January 25, 2013

Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, but scientists have long debated precisely how--and when--it happened. With archaeological records and genetic research leading to different hypotheses, are we any closer to understanding how dogs became man's best friend?

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Two chimps groom each other at the Save the Chimps facility in Florida. The National Institutes of Health owns about 360 chimpanzees that aren't yet retired and that are living at research facilities; new guidelines say most of its chimps should be retire

Rules Would Retire Most Research Chimps

3:56pm January 23, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

An NIH working group recommends that most of the agency's 360 research chimpanzees be sent to a sanctuary — a non-laboratory setting where chimps can live more natural lives. But even if the NIH accepts the recommendations, putting them into effect won't be easy.

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A group of volunteers is helping biologists see whether there are any martens left in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state.

To Catch A Marten: Seeking Clues In Olympic National Forest

9:01am January 22, 2013

by Ashley Ahearn

Scientists are worried about the elusive members of the weasel family that live in parts of Olympic National Forest in Washington state. To see whether martens are endangered, volunteers are installing remote camera traps to take photos of the animals.

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Hannah and Marty eat watermelon snacks at the Save the Chimps sanctuary.

Science

Figuring How To Pay For (Chimp) Retirement

10:06pm January 18, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The National Institutes of Health owns or supports almost 700 chimps. But the question of where they go when no longer needed for research is a thorny one: NIH money to support retired chimps in sanctuaries has been limited by Congress.

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Stock Market Cat Shows Wealth Managers Who's Boss

8:01am January 15, 2013

Britain's Observer newspaper ran a 2012 investment challenge pitting stockbrokers and wealth managers against Orlando. The calculating kitty chose stocks by batting a toy mouse onto a grid of options. The cat's portfolio came out ahead.

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