News
Legal categories for animals still divide " and limit " animal rights
2+ hour ago (1156+ words) The relationships human societies have with animals aren't fixed, but vary according to era, culture, territory and customs. Whaling, which has been practised since the ninth century and was industrialized in the 19th century, offers a good example. Long considered normal,…...
It's a sing-off! Myth-busting about birds and sex when it comes to defending the nest
1+ day, 2+ hour ago (987+ words) Each spring, birds across America are in full voice. Cardinals chatter, sparrows sing and warblers warble. Birdsong lifts the human spirit " "Hope" is the thing with feathers," after all. Yet birds are not singing to soothe our nerves after a…...
Paris has successfully cut noise pollution, but urban birds still can't sing at their natural pitch
2+ day, 20+ hour ago (932+ words) When Rachel Carson wrote the environmental classic Silent Spring in 1962, she warned that unchecked human impacts might create a silent future. Forty years later, biologists uncovered a striking effect of noise pollution on songbirds. They found that low-pitched traffic noise…...
Golden eagles in England? Here's the ecological case for bringing them back
2+ day, 18+ hour ago (802+ words) England's last recorded pair of golden eagles lived in the Lake District. After the female died in 2004, the male was left alone for 12 years before his death in 2016. This marked the end of golden eagles across English skies. Though they…...
Despots, brutality and the quest for a home: The Hair of the Pigeon explores suffering and love
3+ day, 12+ hour ago (994+ words) Mohammed Massoud Morsi is a master storyteller and it is no surprise that the manuscript of his new novel won the prestigious 2025 Dorothy Hewett Award. He brings stories to light that unsettle stereotypes and show unremittingly the fault lines, hypocrisies…...
Overhead power lines kill millions of birds a year. Scientists found a way to help cut the devastating toll
10+ mon, 4+ day ago (725+ words) Millions of birds are killed by power lines each year. Sometimes they collide with the lines when flying and are either electrocuted or fatally injured. Other times they are electrocuted when perching on power poles. Power line collisions are one…...
How whaling evolved from its Basque origins into a vast global business
6+ day, 13+ hour ago (957+ words) The earliest documentary evidence of organised whaling dates back to the 11th century in the Basque Country. From there, the activity spread rapidly across the ports of the Bay of Biscay, from Galicia to Labourd in France, and then across the…...
Do elephants make deliberate gestures to ask for things? Our study says yes
8+ mon, 2+ week ago (733+ words) Elephants are known for their intelligence, strong social bonds, and good memories. But do they communicate to show real intention? A new study suggests they do. The research showed that elephants gestured to ask for food when a person was…...
New research finds few improvements for British Columbia's endangered wildlife
4+ day, 8+ hour ago (815+ words) British Columbia's wildlife is in trouble, and governments aren't working hard enough to keep wild animals and plants alive. How do we know? Fortunately, the provincial government has long kept extensive records of the animals and plant life that call…...
Madagascar's ancient baobabs store 700 years of climate secrets " what they reveal
4+ day, 12+ hour ago (888+ words) Madagascar is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1, 000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. They're…...