Herbivores such as desert woodrats are being forced to change eating habits as rising temperatures are making their usual diet of toxic plants unpalatable. LONDON, January, 2016 – The desert woodrat of the US west doesn’t care for its meals to be served hot. That is because, as the temperatures go up, it tends to lose much appetite for its […]
Read more
“Man charged with throwing alligator into fast food restaurant”, read the headlines when this Florida fast food restaurant got a customer it wasn’t expecting who tossed a live alligator through a drive-thru window. Joshua James, 23, of Jupiter, Florida, had wanted to play a practical joke on a friend working at the Wendy’s restaurant in Royal Palm Beach when he […]
Read more
Researchers in Japan say they have found evidence that radiation from the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident has caused the mutation of dozens of butterflies. The mutant butterflies are assumed to be just one of many affected wildlife species. The mutant butterflies have been shown to have stunted wings, irregularly developed eyes, disfigured antennas and different color […]
Read more
Modern-day mousetraps wouldn’t stand a chance against the supersize rodents that roamed South America about 2 million years ago, National Geographic reports. A giant ancestor of the guinea pig, Josephoartigasia monesi weighed more than 2,000 pounds and stood 5 feet tall, roughly the size of a modern buffalo. Because the critter also sported foot-long buckteeth, University of York scientists wanted […]
Read more
A wild elephant went on a rampage in a village in India’s eastern West Bengal state on Wednesday, damaging around 100 structures, villagers said. Video taken in the village of Ektiasal showed the beast wandering around and knocking over flimsy huts. The elephant strayed into the village early in the morning and woke up villagers with its roaring. “The elephant […]
Read more
The oil released during the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster may damage fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico for years to come. New research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that exposure to crude oil can cause heart defects in fish embryos—abnormalities that will likely kill many developing fish and shorten the lives of others. The study looked […]
Read more
They’ve left no notes behind. And it’s fairly certain they’re not doing it for the insurance money. But “suicidal deer” are apparently such a big problem in Paxton, Ill. that its county is installing signs to warn drivers. Calling the deer “suicidal,” of course, may be something of a misnomer. More likely, they just don’t know to be cautious around […]
Read more
After a century of marital bliss, the world’s longest romance appears to be over. Bibi and Poldi—a pair of Galapagos giant tortoises—are no longer on speaking terms after a century together. Keepers at the Reptile Zoo in Klagenfurt, Austria, say the pair fell out after a fight in which Bibi took a chunk out of Poldi’s shell. Now, whenever they […]
Read more
An enormous iceberg in Antarctica has killed off 150,000 penguins and threatens to wipe out an entire colony, which has become trapped and unable to reach food. A study by researchers from New Zealand and Australia said only about 10,000 Adélie penguins have survived after an iceberg – labelled B09B – grounded in a bay in 2010. The grounding, at […]
Read more