News
Como Zoo ships 3,000 endangered tadpoles for release into native habitat
4+ hour, 23+ min ago (353+ words) Como Zoo this summer raised and shipped nearly 3,000 Wyoming toad tadpoles to Laramie, Wyo., to be released into protected habitat. It’s part of a nationwide project to help with the recovery of one of the most critically endangered amphibians in…...
Bald eagle hatchlings spotted in a Chicago park may be the city’s first for more than a century
2+ mon, 1+ hour ago (380+ words) By LAURA BARGFIELD and TODD RICHMOND Chicago Park District officials announced last week that bird-watchers observed nesting activity starting in February in Park 597 along the Calumet River on the city’s Southeast Side. The first eaglet was spotted in the nest…...
St. Paul FalconCam pair lays surprise fifth egg, making history
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (301+ words) A peregrine falcon pair nesting on top of a downtown St. Paul office tower laid an unexpected fifth egg Tuesday, making history for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The falcon’s nest box is livestreamed through the DNR’s FalconCam. The…...
Climate change is outpacing evolution. Scientists are using DNA to catch up
3+ mon, 3+ day ago (684+ words) That mismatch is killing some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, from California’s towering redwoods to the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of which store vast amounts of carbon and support complex webs of life. Scientists are working to…...
New Yorkers flock to Manhattan park for lovable woodcocks’ bobbing strut
3+ mon, 4+ day ago (500+ words) By EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA and PATRICK WHITTLE The curious birds, known for their bobbing walks and kazoo-like calls, have drawn a crowd to Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan since arriving in late March. Dozens of spectators are gathering at the…...
Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society celebrates 40 years
3+ mon, 3+ day ago (853+ words) Michael Chalich, a lifelong sharp-tailed grouse hunter, remembers when he first fell in love with the game bird. He was only about 11 years old, running a trap line when he ran into some birds he didn’t recognize. When he arrived…...
Oldest known whale recording could unlock mysteries of the ocean
3+ mon, 4+ week ago (595+ words) The song is that of a humpback whale, a marine giant beloved by whale watchers for its docile nature and spectacular leaps from the water, and was recorded by scientists in March 1949 in Bermuda, said researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic…...
Meet the UMN beaver expert with a ‘Hoppers’ character named for her
4+ mon, 1+ week ago (1328+ words) Beavers do not have white teeth. That the mammals are often portrayed with gleaming white front teeth is one of beaver scientist Emily Fairfax’s pet peeves. Beaver incisors are actually orange, said Fairfax, an ecohydrologist and assistant professor of geography…...
Sleepy owl found resting among items on a New York antique store shelf
4+ mon, 1+ week ago (136+ words) The state Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday that the incident happened on Feb. 21 in the hamlet of East Durham, about 127 miles north of Manhattan. The agency said customers at The Market Place had spotted “something extremely lifelike” on one…...
A horse’s neigh may be unique in the animal kingdom. Now scientists know how they do it
4+ mon, 2+ week ago (415+ words) By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN, AP Science Writer How exactly horses produce that distinctive sound — also called a neigh — has long eluded scientists. The whinny is an unusual combination of both high and low pitched sounds, like a cross between a grunt…...