Australian scientists have just discovered a new species of arachnid, dubbed the giant trapdoor spider, in Queensland. It’s huge, bright red, and it can live for up to two decades. Before you panic, we should note that trapdoor spiders aren’t considered a threat to humans. While they are venomous, their bites aren’t known to have [...]
According to a new study, elephant seals may be dying off because of a dangerous obsession with snacking. The obsession with food comes from an evolutionary drive to gain as much weight as physically possible. Basically, the bigger a male seal is, the more likely it is to beat all the other male seals for [...]
You heard it here first, folks: Dutch badgers are systematically taking out the country’s public transportation network. Okay, okay, that might be a little extreme. But over the past few months, badgers have dug dens under a number of railways in the Netherlands, damaging the tracks, stopping traffic and wreaking havoc on the nation’s rail [...]
After a 5-year mission to hunt down a fox wreaking havoc on plans to reintroduce native plants and animals to New South Wales, Australia, the predator named Rambo is officially gone. Rambo was quite a sly fox and evaded “10,400 traps, 3,500 baits, 73 stakeouts, 55 days of scent-tracking dogs, and 97 infrared cameras filming [...]
On March 20, Vietnamese customs officials seized a 20-foot shipping container filled with about seven tons of illegal elephant ivory. According to the press release from the Hai Phong Customs Department, the shipments were labeled with incorrect recipient information and routed through Singapore. Both techniques were intended to hide the shipment’s origin and destination, and [...]
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is looking for two seasonal seabird assistants to live in a lighthouse and hang out with puffins this summer. The gig? You’ll work with a small team to manage and monitor the seabird populations of Coquet Island, a picturesque nubbin of land off the coast of England. [...]
Those close to Mr. Pickles always thought he’d make a great father. Now, after nearly a century of trying, the 90-year-old tortoise will finally get the chance to find out. Earlier this week, the Houston Zoo announced that Mr. Pickles and Mrs. Pickles—both endangered radiated tortoises native to Madagascar—welcomed three new babies into the world. [...]
Harrison Ford has probably attended a lot of release parties in his day. Film releases, record releases, album releases—but this January, he attended a slightly different event: a shark-release party on the coast of Indonesia. The event marked the culmination of a years-long conservation campaign to release 500 baby zebra sharks into the Indian Ocean. [...]
Last week, a group of Maine lobster industry advocates filed a lawsuit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium for warning its visitors not to purchase American lobsters. The California aquarium had stated that lobster fishing equipment can harm the endangered right whale. Boycotting American lobster, it suggested, was among the best ways to help protect the [...]
An English zoo has captured a magical moment on camera: the instant a young baby tree kangaroo poked its head out of its mom’s pouch for the very first time. In an adorable video shared by the Chester Zoo, you can watch the unnamed baby tentatively peek into the outside world and receive a lot [...]
