Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 7, 2023

Watch rare footage of wolf hunting sea otter in Alaska at low tide

Wolves on the Alaskan coast now regularly kill and eat sea otters and harbor seals, scientists have discovered. The finding suggests that the coastal wolves can adapt their hunting behavior — and may have developed unique strategies to prey on marine mammals when food on land is scarce. The study...

Nov 9, 2023

Chimps use military tactic only ever seen in humans before

Chimps use an ancient military tactic to make decisions and avoid potentially fatal clashes with rival groups, scientists have discovered. Researchers observed two western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) communities in Africa take to the hills to carry out surveillance on each other — much like reconnaissance missions used by militaries....

Nov 18, 2023

Do lemmings actually jump off of cliffs?

In 1958, Disney released a wildlife documentary called White Wilderness. One scene depicts a tiny, brown-furred rodent — a lemming — scuttling about in the Arctic snow. There is an actual living legend, the narrator declares, before diving into an explanation of the so-called lemming suicide myth. In a turn...

Nov 24, 2023

Giant 1.5-foot-long rat that can crack open coconuts photographed for 1st time on remote island

The first ever images of the Vangunu giant rat, an elusive rodent that can grow up to 1.5 feet long and is known from only a single specimen that fell out of a tree six years ago, have been recorded by researchers in the Solomon Islands. Using camera traps and...

Dec 1, 2023

Kangaroos might try to drown your dog. Here's why.

Mick Moloney was walking on the banks of the Murray River in northwestern Victoria, Australia, when he noticed his dog Hutchy was missing. He glanced toward the water and saw a kangaroo standing waist-deep in the river with its arms submerged. Next thing you know, Hutchy came up gasping for...

Dec 1, 2023

Shimmering golden mole thought extinct photographed and filmed over 80 years after last sighting

A golden mole that has not been seen for over 80 years has been rediscovered in sand dunes in South Africa. The blind animal was filmed and photographed after an extensive search for the species, which researchers feared was extinct. De Winton's golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) is an elusive blind...

Dec 12, 2023

Some female meerkats have a brutal, bloodthirsty streak, and now we may know why

Meerkats may look cute, but the dominant females are notoriously deadly and will kill female relatives and eat their offspring to suppress reproduction and eliminate future competition. Now, scientists may finally know what helps these murderous matriarchs become dominant — and stay on top. In a new preprint study posted...

Dec 23, 2023

Tufted ground squirrel: The Borneo rodent once believed to disembowel deer and feast on their organs

Name: Tufted ground squirrel (Rheithrosciurus macrotis) Where it lives: On the ground and low branches of hilly forests in Borneo What it eats: Extremely hard seeds from a handful of tree species Why it's awesome: Rumor has it that tufted ground squirrels, nicknamed vampire squirrels in a 2014 Science article,...

Mar 24, 2012

Zoo Diet Linked to Dip in Baby Rhino Births

Zoos may be welcoming fewer baby rhinos into the world in the future: Their reproductive rates are dropping drastically because of medical problems. New research suggests their zoo diet could be playing a role in the drop in babies and increase in disease. The zoo diet contains relatively high levels...

Apr 26, 2012

A Crash of Rhinos: See All 5 Species

Rhinoceros (Image credit: Tim_Booth | Shutterstock) A group of rhinoceroses is known as a crash, though these endangered creatures are often solitary. Rhinos are found in parts of African and Asia, depending on the species. Some rhinos have one horn, while others have two, and they vary in size from...

May 18, 2012

Rhino Arrives at Chicago Zoo

A large male eastern black rhino named Jimma, originally a resident of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, has arrived at his new home at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo. Jimma made the six-hour trip by truck with a keeper from Cleveland who will stay in Chicago for a couple days to help the rhino...

Jun 6, 2012

'Year of the Rhino' Begins in Bid to Save Species

Alarm over the fate of the two rarest rhinoceros species — the Javan and Sumatran rhinos — has prompted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to announce efforts to preserve the animals and to declare today (June 5) the beginning of the International Year of the Rhino. As part of the...

Aug 2, 2012

Antiques Dealer Caught in Rhino Horn Sting

An antiques dealer has admitted interfering with an investigation into the illegal sale of rhino horns, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday (Aug. 1), describing how the dealer used a pair of fake horns to try to double-cross investigators at one point. David Hausman pretended to aid the probe...

Aug 2, 2012

Black Market Horns: Images from a Rhino Bust

Rhino Bust (Image credit: United States Attorney's Office)Prosecutors say Manhattan antiques dealer David Hausman volunteered to help with an investigation into the illegal sale of rhino horn, but then double crossed them, using a pair of fake horns to cover his tracks. Hausman has plead guilty on related charges. Above,...

Aug 6, 2012

Cleveland Zoo Welcomes Baby Rhino

A male eastern black rhinoceros calf was born July 1 at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The birth marks the start of a third generation of rhinos at the zoo. The calf, which has yet to be named, is the offspring of Kibibbi, 8, and Jimma, 22, and it makes the zoo's...