Many factors determine the lifespan of an animal — habitat, food sources (and availability), the animal’s size and its ability to protect itself from predators. Longevity often depends on the age the animal reaches sexual maturity. The Greenland shark has a lifespan of 500-plus years, but they mate later in life, which accounts for why […]
Continue ReadingCategory Archives: Nature
Rare Bird Spotted in 178 Years
Bird watchers are flocking to northeastern Wisconsin in the hopes of glimpsing a southern shorebird last seen in the state almost 180 years ago. Logan Lasee, a member of the Bay Area Bird Club, spotted a roseate spoonbill in the Ken Euers Nature Area in Green Bay on July 26, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. More […]
Continue ReadingA Fuzzy Invasion
When Alicia Griggs steps outside her suburban Fort Lauderdale home, Florida’s latest invasive species comes a-hoppin’ down the street: lionhead rabbits. The bunnies, which sport an impressive flowing mane around their heads, want the food Griggs carries. But she also represents their best chance of survival and moving where this domesticated breed belongs: inside homes, […]
Continue ReadingWho Pays For Rescues?
When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should foot the bill for rescue attempts? When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart. And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping […]
Continue ReadingFlorida County Under Quarantine
A portion of a Florida county has been placed under quarantine as state officials work to get rid of a giant African land snail (GALS), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) said Tuesday. The quarantine comes weeks after state officials found the snail in the Miramar area of Broward County, Florida, according […]
Continue ReadingZoo Welcomes Endangered Baby Pygmy Hippo
There’s a new member of the Pittsburgh Zoo family – an adorable baby pygmy hippopotamus named Hadari. The 1-year-old baby boy was moved in on May 23, the zoo announced on Wednesday, coming from Alabama’s Montgomery Zoo. And he’s already making himself at home in the zoo’s Jungle Odyssey area. “Hadari is trying out everything, […]
Continue Reading‘Humongous’ Catfish
‘Humongous’ catfish caught in Pennsylvania nabs angler a state record. See the catch When Michael Wherley felt a tug on his line on a Pennsylvania river, he knew there was something big on the other end. He was right. Hooked on his line was a 66-pound flathead catfish. “When it finally came to the surface, […]
Continue ReadingFirst Know “Virgin Birth”
‘Virgin’ crocodile found to have made herself pregnant The first ever known case of a crocodile laying eggs without a male mate – a rare reproductive strategy that could be traced back to dinosaurs – has been documented by scientists. Over the last two decades, zoologists have increasingly documented the very rare vertebrate reproductive strategy […]
Continue ReadingRare Wolverine Spotted
A wild wolverine was spotted multiple times in California last month, only the second specimen to be verified by experts in the past century, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Over a two-week period in May, the wolverine was reported twice in Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park. Photos […]
Continue ReadingCalifornia is Meant to Burn
‘California is meant to burn’: Experts teach landowners art of prescribed burns The prescribed burn begins on a California hill with a drip torch to light brush, needles and fallen branches, the flames spreading out on the forest floor far below the tree canopy. Students on this Saturday class learn how to keep the […]
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