Today’s World Animal Day, celebrated across the globe since a 1931 convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy, conceived of it as a way to highlight the plight of endangered species. They chose October 4 because it’s the Catholic Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Since then, people have used the
You might not think of a porcupine living in the Brazilian rainforest, but a new-to-science species has been recently documented there. Even more surprising: they live in trees. While the discovery is exciting, it is also very sad, because these tree-dwelling porcupines are under threats due to loss of their natural habitat. They live in
Climate changes poses a problem for many species of animal on our planet. As environments shift, animals will need to follow their preferred climate. New research points out that the current rate of climate change up until 2080 will actually benefit most mammals that currently live in northern Europe’s Arctic and sub-Arctic land areas, but
The rise and fall of climate change over the past 65 million years has had a continuing effect on the fauna of the North American continent, according to a new study which identified six distinct waves of mammals, known as “evolutionary fauna.” “Although we’ve always known in a general way that mammals respond to climatic
The Permian-Triassic extinction event – also known as the Great Dying – is recorded as the most significant extinction event in Earth’s history, seeing a whopping 96% of marine species killed off, 70% of land-based animals, and is the only extinction event to have affected insects. Researchers at the University of Calgary believe that they
The seasonal loss of ice in the Arctic which scientists believe will eventually lead to ice-free summers could have both beneficial and negative effects for the mammals that have over millennia adapted to life in the cold and harsh environment, according to a new research paper published in the December 15 issue of the journal
[social_buttons] A new species of Samoan fruit bat or ‘flying fox’ was discovered at the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia by Kristofer M. Helgen, a Research Zoologist and Curator of Mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Helgen, the lead author of the paper published in American Museum Novitates, noticed the bat within
For years and years parents have taken their children to zoos to see exotic animals, animals that they don’t get to see everyday. They want to see lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! High on the the list of animals to be seen are elephants, nature’s gentle giants. These cute, (hardly) cuddly animals are the largest of the land mammals. But all of that could change. Elephants could be removed from zoos forever if In Defense of Animals (IDA) and a handful of scientists and activists get their way.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/dHqhzxF2pRM&hl=en&fs=1] With only 60 Javan rhinos still in existence, the World Wildlife Fund is desperately tracking the animals with 34 video cameras in their native habitat in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park to better determine their behaviors and plan a conservation effort. [social_buttons] “The project is helping the most endangered large mammal species,” said Adhi
Last week news surfaced that several raccoons had been seen repeatedly in areas around the White House grounds. Humane traps have been set to capture them, and if caught, the fuzzy-looking bandits will be released in a forested area by the National Park Service. [social_buttons] Forget the need for economic stimulus, Barack, can you come
Large herds of buffalo once trampled the Great Plains, making the landscape appear black and in motion. Wolves roamed the continent, creating complex societies. This time period now lives as legend, in accounts from early settlers and Indian stories. Scattered reserves are home to relatively small populations. A recently study by scientists from the Princeton
