Oil spill in the Kerch Strait. Dozens of sea mammals have been found dead since last month’s Russian oil tanker spill in the Black Sea, a dolphin rescue center said Sunday, as authorities raced to contain the disaster. The spill began on December 15, when two aging Russian tankers were caught in a storm off […]
Riley Black Science Correspondent Mammals are familiar beasts. From a squirrel on a power line to a blue whale swimming through the sea, we share the world with more than 6,000 mammal species of all shapes and sizes. While we can easily distinguish a creature like a jaguar from a reptile or a bird in […]
H5N1 bird flu is getting better at spreading between mammals but does not yet spread as easily as seasonal flu, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study suggests. H5N1 has been detected in at least 46 people in the U.S. this year, causing only mild illnesses so far. The CDC maintains that the […]
Brian Handwerk Science Correspondent When the sun sets, darkness guides the ways many animals live and die. The night helps wary mice hide from some predators, but it also helps hunters like keen-eyed owls score their next meal. Many species mate under cover of darkness, like calling crickets that find one another in the night. […]
I am in the back of a crowded jeep in late March. Outside, in the early Albanian spring, fat rain falls hard. A shepherd drives a sea of goats down the narrow road—they part around our car like a river around a stone. My goal is to see a Balkan lynx, but chances are slim. […]
