Mammals

Why Horses and Their Ilk Are the Only One-Toed Animals Still Standing

Early horses had 15 toes, but life on the plains led to a stronger center toe, leading to life on four hooves

A Russian scientific institute unveiled a statue in 2013 to an unsung hero of science - the lab mouse

This Russian Monument Honors the Humble Lab Mouse

A peculiar Russian monument praises the scientific achievements of a tiny mammal

Usually the massive creatures rest between hunting dives on floating ice. But as ice becomes increasingly scarce, the creatures are forced ashore.

Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Earliest Gathering Yet Observed

As ice melts, the Pacific walruses are losing their icy resting platforms

Like humans, individual tigers react differently to sedatives, says Minnesota Zoo veterinarian Rachel Thompson.

The Big Unsexy Problem With Tiger Selfies

Why drugging and caging the cats for Tinder photos is even more messed up than it sounds

Maiopatagium furculiferum fossil found in China

Exceptional Fossils Show Ancient Winged Mammals May Have Glided Above the Dinosaurs

The discovery of two flying squirrel-like fossils suggest mammal diversity began earlier than previously thought

Here, wildebeest find themselves trapped by high cliffs while crossing the Mara River in Africa's Serengeti. Every year thousands of wildebeest die while crossing the river due to strong currents or crossing at dangerous sites.

The Upside of Rotting Carcasses

Large animals dying en masse are crucial to the the Serengeti—and they aren’t the only ones

Snooty, World's Oldest Captive Manatee, Dies in Accident

The 69-year-old sea cow was the mascot for the South Florida Museum

The cheetah population almost halved since 1975 with only an estimated 7,100 left in the wild today.

How to Help Cheetahs Live Longer in Captivity

The key is in what we feed them, researchers surmise

What Is the Key to Predict Animal Speed?

The biggest animals aren't always the fastest

How Do Sea Lions Swim, Glide and Sometimes Even Nab Humans?

These living torpedoes pull themselves through the water using their front flippers, unlike other ocean creatures

I can haz a sense of inequity?

Wolves and Dogs Both Have a Sense of Fairness

But wolves seem to take inequity much more seriously than dogs

How Mastiffs Became the World’s Top Dogs

The large, furry dogs of Tibet took an evolutionary shortcut millenia ago

Naked Mole-Rats Can Survive for 18 Minutes Without Oxygen

Just when you thought the wrinkly creatures couldn’t get any stranger

A sea otter floats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

The Remarkable Return of Sea Otters to Glacier Bay

Rarely do apex predators recover from human oppression. These otters are an exception

The tick discovered preserved in amber

30-Million-Year-Old Tick Full of Monkey Blood Found in Ancient Amber

Scientists think the tick was plucked from a primate before being dropped in a puddle of sticky tree resin

Outside of the U.S., international whale capture is alive and well.

What Will It Take to End International Killer Whale Capture?

The West may have rejected whale captivity, but the painful relationship between humans and orcas is far from over

Nearly blind, Typhlomys cinereus thrives in the high forests of southeastern China and Vietnam—with a little help from another sense.

This Echolocating Dormouse Could Reveal the Origins of One of Nature’s Coolest Superpowers

Mice, moths and even humans use clicks and echoes to "see" the world around them

Ōkunoshima

The Dark History of Japan's Rabbit Island

The heroes of the movie Kong: Skull Island prepare to encounter the 104-foot-tall ape King Kong.

How Big Can a Land Animal Get?

King Kong's biggest enemy isn’t humans—it’s the laws of physics

How the Desert Oryx Stops Its Brain From Frying

How does the desert-dwelling oryx survive a body temperature that would kill other mammals? The answer lies in a panting mechanism

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