Nicknamed “Spunky,” the young hawk was spotted living in an eagle’s nest in June. Experts initially thought his chances for survival were low. Hawks and eagles are normally mortal enemies. Hawks feed on small rodents, rabbits, and snakes, but Spunky was seen eating a flounder that he stole from one of the other eagles. He […]
The Brave Wilderness gets up close and personal some some really disgusting Bloodworms. Check out the video below to see if they will indeed bite under the right conditions. Bloodworms are typically found on the bottom of shallow marine waters and commonly used for bait when fishing. Related posts: Cephalopods: Nature’s camouflaging […]
When I was watching Finding Dory last weekend, one character caught my eye: Hank the octopus (or septopus—you will understand this reference when you see the movie). Throughout the movie, Hank uses his ability to blend into his surroundings, a skill that is very useful for Dory’s plan to reunite with her parents. Many cephalopods—which […]
Stringing together meaningless sounds to create meaningful signals was previously thought to be the preserve of humans alone, but a new study published in the journalPLOS Biology reveals that Australian babbler birds are also able to communicate in this way. Researchers at the Universities of Exeter and Zurich discovered that the chestnut-crowned babbler (pictured) – […]
Veterinary specialists in the UK have authored an intriguing paper regarding certain types of feline seizures, which appear to occur in response to certain high-pitched sounds. The paper, entitled “Audiogenic reflex seizures in cats,” has been published in theJournal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and is based on data from 96 cats. It reveals that […]
A peptide found in opossums that can be manufactured easily could provide a novel and inexpensive antidote for venomous snake and scorpion bites. The researchers behind the discovery believe it could save thousands of lives worldwide, without the side effects of current antivenom treatments. Worldwide, an estimated 421,000 cases of poisonous snake bites and 20,000 […]
How closely does the relationship between people and their dogs mirror the parent-child relationship? A new study has been investigating differences in how parts of the brain are activated when women view images of their children and of their own dogs. The researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital, have detailed their findings in the journal PLOS […]
The fossilized remains of an extinct giant bird with a wingspan of 24 feet place the creature above theoretical upper limits for powered flight in animals, leaving scientists to wonder how the enormous bird managed to take to the air. Named Pelagornis sandersi, the new species was more than twice as big as the Royal […]
Chimpanzees like to listen to the different rhythms of music from Africa and India, but prefer silence to music from the West, according to new research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. “We used cultural music from Africa, India and Japan to pinpoint specific acoustic properties,” said study co-author Frans de Waal, of Emory University. […]
A new analysis of European archaeological sites suggests that early modern humans working with the earliest domestic dogs were extremely successful at killing large animals. The success of the dog-human hunting combo could explain the mysterious, massive collections of mammoth bones found in Europe. These spectacular archaeological sites yielding extraordinary numbers of dead mammoths – […]
