News
Echidna ‘puggles’ weigh less than a mini marshmallow
9+ hour, 51+ min ago (268+ words) Published Jul 18, 2026 11:12 AM EDT Some more independent baby animals—from precocial species—hit the ground running almost as soon as they’ve popped or hatched out. Others—called altricial animals—need parental attention before venturing out on their own. Echidnas are…...
How wild animals prepare for violence just like humans
2+ day, 10+ hour ago (393+ words) Published Jul 16, 2026 11:00 AM EDT In the animal kingdom, life can sometimes look more like Game of Thrones than Charlotte’s Web. Bloody conflicts over territory, mates, and more are common in social animals, and several species have their own anticipatory behaviors…...
Could Sheepstealer and other 'House of the Dragon' dragons actually fly?
3+ day, 12+ hour ago (743+ words) Published Jul 15, 2026 9:01 AM EDT “You don’t have to be an air mechanics specialist like I am to know that if you put the wings on the very front of a Boeing 747, it isn’t going to fly,” Habib tells Popular Science....
Weighing an octopus starts with a laundry basket
6+ day, 5+ hour ago (324+ words) Published Jul 12, 2026 3:15 PM EDT Just like nurses ask patients to step on the scale at their annual checkup, weight is an important metric in animal healthcare. Measuring some animals’ weight, however, isn’t as straightforward as it is for human patients....
World’s largest paper airplane has a 65-foot wingspan
1+ week, 2+ day ago (223+ words) Published Jul 9, 2026 10:49 AM EDT It’s easy to craft a paper airplane capable of soaring across a classroom, but one that can travel 200 feet is a bit harder. A group of students from Italy’s University of Pisa not only managed to…...
Pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammal. A nearly 200-year-old specimen could help.
2+ week, 3+ day ago (504+ words) Published Jul 1, 2026 5:00 AM EDT They look like a pinecone that sprouted legs and a tail and started to walk. Pangolins have armored bodies covered with overlapping scales that protect the mid-sized mammals that are native to parts of Africa and…...
Watch bison shield their baby from a rare wolf attack in Poland
2+ week, 6+ day ago (390+ words) 🛍️ Amazon Prime Day: The best deals chosen by our editors 🛍️ Published Jun 28, 2026 10:06 AM EDT While reviewing footage for her PhD research, Polish Academy of Sciences ecologist Robin Wijnands spotted something pretty wild. A camera set up in eastern Poland’s Bialowieza…...
Why do fireflies glow? It's more than butt goo.
3+ week, 1+ day ago (1004+ words) 🛍️ Amazon Prime Day: The best deals chosen by our editors 🛍️ Published Jun 26, 2026 9:03 AM EDT Growing up, Clyde Sorenson loved catching bugs, especially fireflies. But even as a kid, the budding entomologist saw that there was a lot more to these…...
Dwarf mongooses don’t just wait for danger
3+ week, 5+ day ago (274+ words) Published Jun 22, 2026 9:00 AM EDT While warfare seems like a deeply human conflict, a tiny carnivore also makes its own strategic moves before battle. The warriors in question are common dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula), the smallest carnivore in Africa. They are…...
6 animal fathers who go the distance
3+ week, 6+ day ago (831+ words) Published Jun 21, 2026 10:09 AM EDT In the animal kingdom, fatherhood exists on a spectrum. Some species like grizzly bears or lions will leave after mating and never really interact with their offspring again. Others do everything from keeping eggs warm solo…...