Mammals News

May 16, 2024

Top Headlines

Otters, Especially Females, Use Tools to Survive a Changing World

May 16, 2024 — Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred ...

Some Mice May Owe Their Monogamy to a Newly Evolved Type of Cell

May 15, 2024 — What makes the oldfield mouse steadfastly monogamous throughout its life while its closest rodent relatives are promiscuous? The answer may be a previously unknown hormone-generating cell. Scientists discover the cells and hormones that inspire mice ...

High Genetic Diversity Discovered in South African Leopards

May 14, 2024 — Researchers say the discovery of very high genetic diversity in leopards found in the Highveld region of South Africa has increased the need for conservation efforts to protect leopards in the ...

Killer Whales Breathe Just Once Between Dives, Study Confirms

May 15, 2024 — A new study has confirmed a long-held assumption: that orcas take just one breath between dives. The researchers used drone footage and biological data from tags suction-cupped to 11 northern and southern resident killer whales off the coast of B.C. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 6:56pm EDT

Tiger Beetles Fight Off Bat Attacks With Ultrasonic Mimicry

May 15, 2024 — When tiger beetles hear a bat nearby, they respond by creating a high-pitched, ultrasonic noise, and for the past 30 years, no one has known why. In a new study, scientists lay the mystery to rest by ...

Parasitic Worm Likely Playing Role in Decline of Moose Populations

May 15, 2024 — A parasitic worm that can infest the brains of moose appears to be playing a role in the decline of the iconic animal in some regions of North America. Moose populations have been dwindling for years ...

Iconic Baobabs: The Origin and Long-Distance Travels of Upside Down Trees

May 15, 2024 — The research cracks the code on the iconic baobab tree's origin story, revealing their surprising origins in Madagascar and incredible long-distance dispersals to Africa and Australia. The study ...

Young Whale's Journey Highlights Threats Facing Ocean Animals

May 14, 2024 — A young whale's journey across the Mediterranean highlights the many threats facing ocean animals, researchers ...

In Medieval England, Leprosy Spread Between Red Squirrels and People, Genome Evidence Shows

May 3, 2024 — Evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for ...

Protecting Endangered Monkeys from Poachers, Habitat Loss

Apr. 30, 2024 — The 17 species of red colobus monkey living across Africa, including in the Tai Project field station region, have been singled out by scientists as a priority conservation target. Protection of ...

Long Snouts Protect Foxes When Diving Headfirst in Snow

Apr. 29, 2024 — When hunting for mice in winter, red and arctic fox are known to plunge headfirst at speeds of 2-4 meters per second, but their sharp noses reduce the impact force in snow and protect them from ...

Study Reveals Cancer Vulnerabilities in Popular Dog Breeds

Apr. 29, 2024 — Medium-sized dogs have a higher risk of developing cancer than the very largest or smallest breeds, according to a new ...

With Hybrid Brains, These Mice Smell Like a Rat

Apr. 25, 2024 — Mice lacking an olfactory system have had their sense of smell restored with neurons from rats, the first time scientists have successfully integrated the sensory apparatus of one species into ...

Florida Dolphin Found With Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu

Apr. 26, 2024 — Report details first-ever finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in North American ...

Deer Are Expanding North, and That's Not Good for Caribou

Apr. 25, 2024 — In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther ...

Laser Technology Offers Breakthrough in Detecting Illegal Ivory

Apr. 24, 2024 — A new way of quickly distinguishing between illegal elephant ivory and legal mammoth tusk ivory could prove critical to fighting the illegal ivory trade. A laser-based approach could be used by ...

Lemur's Lament: When One Vulnerable Species Stalks Another

Apr. 19, 2024 — What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by ...

Octopus Inspires New Suction Mechanism for Robots

Apr. 18, 2024 — A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by ...

Dog Attacks on Mountain Tapirs Highlight a Growing Threat to Endangered Wildlife

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened ...

Digging Up New Species of Australia and New Guinea's Giant Fossil Kangaroos

Apr. 15, 2024 — Palaeontologists have described three unusual new species of giant fossil kangaroo from Australia and New Guinea, finding them more diverse in shape, range and hopping method than previously thought. ...

Where Have All the Right Whales Gone?

Apr. 12, 2024 — Marine researchers have mapped the density of one of the most endangered large whale species worldwide, the North Atlantic right whale, using new data to help avoid right whales' harmful ...

Iconic Savanna Mammals Face Genetic Problems Due to Fences and Roads

Apr. 12, 2024 — Wildebeest migrations have become a rarer sight in Africa as humans continue to interrupt their historic migratory routes with roads, fences, cities, livestock and farmland. This has led to genetic ...

Mapped: 33 New Big Game Migrations Across American West

Apr. 11, 2024 — A new set of maps that document the movements of ungulates was published today in the fourth volume of the Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States. The maps in this collaborative report ...

Toothed Whale Echolocation Organs Evolved from Jaw Muscles

Apr. 8, 2024 — Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the ...

Genomic Research May Help Explain Cancer Resistance in Tasmanian Devils

Mar. 28, 2024 — Through DNA sequencing of Tasmanian devils and their tumors, researchers have tracked the genomic interactions between the animals and the ...

Small Birds Spice Up the Already Diverse Diet of Spotted Hyenas in Namibia

Mar. 28, 2024 — Hyenas are generalist predators (and scavengers) with a broad range of prey species. They are known for hunting (or scavenging) larger mammals such as antelopes and occasionally feed on smaller ...

Scientists Warn: The Grey Seal Hunt Is Too Large

Mar. 27, 2024 — Researchers warn that today's hunting quotas of about 3,000 animals pose a risk to the long-term survival of the grey seal in the Baltic Sea. The conclusions of this new study are based on ...

Secrets of the Naked Mole-Rat: New Study Reveals How Their Unique Metabolism Protects Them from Heart Attacks

Mar. 27, 2024 — This unusual, subterranean mammal with extreme longevity shows genetic adaptations to low oxygen environments which could offer opportunities for advancing other areas of physiological and medical ...

Two Coral Snakes Recorded Battling for Prey in a Scientific First

Mar. 26, 2024 — Two red-tailed coral snakes have been observed competing over a caecilian in the first documented wild case of kleptoparasitism within the family ...

Caller ID of the Sea: Tagging Whale Communication and Behavior

Mar. 25, 2024 — Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and ...

Your Dog Understands That Some Words 'Stand For' Objects

Mar. 22, 2024 — It's no surprise that your dog can learn to sit when you say 'sit' and come when called. But a new study has made the unexpected discovery that dogs generally also know that certain ...

Entanglements of Humpback Whales in Fish Farms Rare -- And Naivety Could Be to Blame

Mar. 21, 2024 — The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing ...

Sheep: Excess Temperatures Cause Low Flocking Concerns

Mar. 21, 2024 — High temperatures during critical periods of the reproductive cycle of sheep result in 2.1 million fewer lambs produced in Australia each year, costing sheep farmers an estimated $97 million ...

Scientists Weigh Up Current Status of Blue Whale Populations Around the World

Mar. 20, 2024 — The largest living animal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which averages about 27 meters in length, has slowly recovered from whaling only to face the rising challenges of global warming, ...