The hill I will die on: pigeons are working-class heroes and deserve some respect
But aren’t you just a bit curious why, out of all the birds, pigeons are the most tolerant of humans? It’s certainly not mutual. No other bird faces so much hostility from us. Spikes, netting, “do not feed” signs—all things we inflict on a bird whose greatest crime is exhibiting an impressive lack of shame […]
‘Cities need nature to be happy’: David Attenborough seeks out London’s hidden wildlife
Filming the wildlife of London requires an intrepid, agile presenter, willing to lie on damp grass after dark to encounter hedgehogs, scale heights to hold a peregrine falcon chick, and stake out a Tottenham allotment to get within touching distance of wary wild foxes.
U.S. military to stop shooting live animals to train medics for the battlefield
Defense department will still allow stabbing and burning, and ‘weapon wounding’ on animals to test weapons. The U.S. military will stop its practice of shooting pigs and goats to help prepare medics for treating wounded troops in a combat zone, ending an exercise made obsolete by simulators that mimic battlefield injuries.
‘Her behavior could be extreme’: The woman who gave her life to save the gorillas
Dian Fossey transformed our view of mountain gorillas while fighting tooth and nail to save them. But according to the people who knew her, she was also a flawed obsessive whose murder remains a mystery to this day. It is now 40 years since the mysterious murder of Dian Fossey, the primatologist who transformed the […]
‘Those who eat Chilean salmon cannot imagine how much human blood it carries with it’
The country is the world’s second-largest producer of the popular fish, and the biggest supplier to the U.S., but its farms are beset by accusations of dangerous labor conditions, antibiotic overuse, and ecological harm.
The tragedy of Laika, the first animal to orbit the earth
Soviet researchers launched the real Laika, a small black-and-white terrier mix, into space aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, where she became the first living thing to orbit the earth, proving that life could survive both launch and outer space conditions for extended periods of time.
Wild honeybees now officially listed as endangered in the EU
Wild honeybee populations have been officially categorised as endangered within the European Union. That’s according to the latest update to the IUCN Red List, the world’s official database of species conservation statuses.
Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91
Jane Goodall, a scientist whose studies of wild chimpanzees made her a household name, has died at the age of 91, according to an announcement posted by the Jane Goodall Institute.
Scientists discover the pancake secret that makes vegan eggs irresistible
Researchers discovered that the best way to get people to try vegan eggs is to blend them into well-known dishes. While not ready to replace the classic scramble, they’re gaining traction for their eco-friendly and ethical appeal.
Do dolphins and whales really play together? Yes—and it’s a joy to watch
Researchers sought to answer this question by looking through hundreds of photographs and video clips in a new study to determine if these species are mutually playing, or if their interactions are all one-sided.
Four Days in the Mud: A Harrowing Rescue Mission
In all our decades of elephant conservation, this stands out as one of our more challenging operations yet. Over the course of four days, teams battled time, terrain, and rising tides to pull off an extraordinary elephant rescue mission.
Human connection to nature has declined 60% in 200 years, study finds
People’s connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800, almost exactly mirroring the disappearance of nature words such as river, moss and blossom from books, according to a study.
