It looked like a horse and acted like one, but this horse was different
The evolution of the horse is often presented as a simple, straight-line journey. In this familiar tale, Eohippus stands at the base of the family tree, followed by progressively larger species until the story reaches today’s horses (Equus)—the largest horses ever to exist. But the real story is far more complicated.
The world’s rarest Great Ape is worse off than we thought
When scientists identified the Tapanuli orangutan as its own species in 2017, it immediately became the world’s rarest great ape. A survey suggested there were fewer than 800 remaining. The animals had already been pushed into a forbidding mountainous territory about the size of Los Angeles in northern Sumatra, and were hemmed in by human […]
It was as heavy as 10 elephants, as long as a jumbo jet—and even T. rex wouldn’t have dared attack it…
Patagotitan is likely the biggest dinosaur to have ever lived. Millions of years ago, Earth was ruled by giants. Pterosaurs with 12m wingspans darkened the skies, dragonflies the size of widescreen televisions buzzed among the undergrowth and sauropods the length of a jumbo jet browsed the treetops.
U.S. declines to protect endangered monkeys used in medical research
Long-tailed macaques, monkeys native to Southeast Asia, have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2022 after their populations declined by at least 50% over 30 years. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has twice now declined to consider protecting the species under the domestic Endangered Species Act. The most […]
The Great Lakes’ most emblematic fish could be consigned to history books
From the basement of the Sandusky library, page 29 of the book Sandusky of To-Day proclaims the town to be the “largest fresh water fish market in the world.” Two pages later, an image of the lake whitefish, referred to as “Sandusky’s pride,” takes up the entire page.
Industrial chicken farming accelerating spread of diarrhea bacteria, study finds
The study found a dramatic increase in the exchange of campylobacter strains between wild birds and chickens as farming has intensified, creating the ideal conditions for the bacteria to mix, spread and acquire new traits. There has also been a rise in antimicrobial resistance traits in circulating strains, raising concerns that serious illness in people […]
The most beautiful place in every stage: from Arizona’s Grand Canyon to Maine’s Acadia National Park
The U.S. is full of beautiful, diverse landscapes that range from desert mesas and wooded river valleys to barrier islands and lush, steamy tropics. The scenery along Florida’s palm-studded coast is much different than what you would see in California’s rugged Sierra Nevada, for instance, or the fiery canyonlands of the Southwest.
No Bake Vegan Smores with Dark Chocolate Mousse
Okay, so I’m just going to be upfront and say it. These Vegan S’mores with Dark Chocolate Mousse do take a bit of time to make. However—the end result is totally worth it. The reason it takes a bit of time is because you have to allow the layers to set in between making them. […]
Scientists discovered an underwater city of 60-million fish nests beneath Antarctica’s ice shelf
Hidden beneath hundreds of metres of Antarctic ice lies one of the planet’s most extraordinary wildlife spectacles. After drilling through the Filchner Ice Shelf, scientists deployed an autonomous underwater robot into the dark waters below, where it revealed what can only be described as an underwater city, a sprawling breeding colony covering an area roughly […]
Trump administration allows killing of species threatened with extinction
Regulatory changes to reinterpret the Endangered Species Act also demand that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consider the economic toll of habitat protection. The agency could soon declare that pygmy rabbits or Florida manatees are threatened with extinction. But under a policy change issued by the Trump administration on Friday, Americans could still kill, […]
The first major overhaul of public lands grazing looks to cut out public involvement
For the first time since 1995, the Bureau of Land Management is rewriting its grazing regulations. The new rule, which governs ranching across 155 million acres of public lands in the West, would heavily favor the livestock industry. Public lands grazing is overseen by a nearly century-old system that heavily subsidizes some of the wealthiest […]
‘Death sentence’: Trump administration to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining
The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining, and other uses. For the last 50 years, the landmark environmental law included a broader understanding of the word “harm”, which ensured that not just the plants […]