http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/wild_animals/ Wildlife news. Learn all about wild animals in their native habitats. Read current research articles on large land mammals, fish and more. en-us Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/wild_animals/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215142817.htm Scientists have tested nearly 700 wild yeast strains isolated from diverse environments for the presence of known and unknown prion elements, finding them in one third of all strains. All the prions appear capable of creating diverse new traits, nearly half of which are beneficial. These unexpected findings stand as strong evidence against the common argument that prions are merely yeast "diseases" or rare artifacts of laboratory culture. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:28:28 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215142817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214121854.htm Bumblebees can use cues from their rivals the honeybees to learn where the best food resources are, according to new research. In a new study, researchers trained a colony of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to use cues provided by a different species, the honeybee (Apis mellifera), as well as cues provided by fellow bumblebees to locate food resources on artificial flowers. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214121854.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213154053.htm A study of the evolutionary history of Antarctic fish and their "anti-freeze" proteins illustrates how tens of millions of years ago a lineage of fish adapted to newly formed polar conditions -- and how today they are endangered by a rapid rise in ocean temperatures. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:40:40 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213154053.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213134144.htm The choices big fish make on where to shelter could have a major influence on their ability to cope with climate change, say scientists. In research aimed at understanding the process of fish population decline when coral reefs sustain major damage, scientists have found that big fish show a marked preference for sheltering under large, flat table corals. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213134144.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120211095049.htm Advances in studying genes mean that scientists in evolutionary developmental biology or “evo-devo” can now explain more clearly than ever before how bats got wings, the turtle got its shell and blind cave fish lost their eyes, says an evolutionary biologist. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120211095049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120210111256.htm Invasive species which have the potential to destroy biodiversity and influence global change could be tracked and controlled in the same way as wanted criminals, according to new research. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120210111256.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120209140200.htm Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers have discovered that the seals dive deeper for food when in warmer water. The scientists attribute this behavior to the migration of prey to greater depths and now wish to check this theory using a new sensor which registers the feeding of the animals below water. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120209140200.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208220215.htm A species of mosquito has been discovered breeding in the UK that has not been seen in the country since 1945. Populations of the mosquito, found across mainland Europe and known only by its Latin name Culex modestus, were recorded at a number of sites in the marshes of north Kent and south Essex in 2010 and 2011. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208220215.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208220210.htm Tarsiers' ultrasonic calls -- among the most extreme in the animal kingdom -- give them a "private channel" of communication, says an anthropologist. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208220210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208180253.htm Scientists have found that only about ten percent of the fall-run Chinook salmon spawning in California's Mokelumne River are naturally produced wild salmon. A massive influx of hatchery-raised fish that return to spawn in the wild is masking the fact that too few wild fish are returning to sustain a natural population in the river. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208180253.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208103226.htm A new study shows that the impact of fishing for tuna and similar species during the last 50 years has lessened the abundance of all these populations by an average of 60%. Experts add that the majority of tuna fish have been exploited to the limits of sustainability. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208103226.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206214228.htm A ladybird's color indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to scientists. This research directly shows that differences between animals' warning signals reveal how poisonous individuals are to predators. The study shows that redder ladybirds are more poisonous than their paler peers and reveals that this variation is directly linked to diet in early life, with better-fed ladybirds being more visible and more deadly. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206214228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206174256.htm Biologists have uncovered why the chemical defenses in birch, a common type of tree found in North America, are toxic to snowshoe hares. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206174256.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206164632.htm Scientists found evidence that domestic cats and wild cats that share the same outdoor areas in urban environments also can share diseases such as Bartonellosis and Toxoplasmosis. Both can be spread from cats to people. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:46:46 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206164632.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154122.htm Studies of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs, challenging the paradigm of post-mating sexual selection being driven mostly by competition among sperm. In the process, the researchers discovered an unexpected and stunning variety of sperm form and behavior. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154114.htm The love song of an extinct cricket that lived 165 million years ago has been brought back to life by scientists. The song – possibly the most ancient known musical song documented to date – was reconstructed from microscopic wing features on a fossil discovered in North East China. It allows us to listen to one of the sounds that would have been heard by dinosaurs and other creatures roaming Jurassic forests at night. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154114.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206143952.htm Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding "hotspots" in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:39:39 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206143952.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206143946.htm Infectious disease has joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to the survival of African great apes as they have become restricted to ever-smaller populations. Despite the work of dedicated conservationists, efforts to save our closest living relatives from ecological extinction are largely failing, and new scientific approaches are necessary to analyze major threats and find innovative solutions. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:39:39 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206143946.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203102414.htm They are tiny, ugly, disease-carrying little blood-suckers that most people have never seen or heard of, but a new discovery in a one-of-a-kind fossil shows that "bat flies" have been doing their noxious business with bats for at least 20 million years. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203102414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202150825.htm The Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Peru program recently announced the discovery of 365 species previously undocumented in Bahuaja Sonene National Park in southeastern Peru. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202150825.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131150834.htm Conservationists working in Central Africa to save the world's rarest gorilla have good news: the Cross River gorilla has more suitable habitat than previously thought, including vital corridors that, if protected, can help the great apes move between sites in search of mates. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131150834.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131135414.htm Volunteers working in northeast China have cleared 162 illegal wire snares in an ongoing effort to protect the nation’s remaining population of critically endangered Amur (Siberian) tigers. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:54:54 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131135414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131135205.htm New research links precipitous declines in formerly common mammals in Everglades National Park to the presence of invasive Burmese pythons. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:52:52 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131135205.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130193241.htm Precipitous declines in formerly common mammals in Everglades National Park in Florida have been linked to the presence of invasive Burmese pythons, according to new research. The study, the first to document the ecological impacts of this invasive species, strongly supports that animal communities in the 1.5-million-acre park have been markedly altered by the introduction of pythons within 11 years of their establishment as an invasive species. Mid-sized mammals are the most dramatically affected, but some Everglades pythons are as large as 16 feet long, and their prey have included animals as large as deer and alligators. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130193241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130172408.htm Wildlife health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have published evidence which supports the conclusion that Mongolian gazelles -- one of the most populous large land mammals on the planet -- are not a reservoir of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious viral disease that threatens both wildlife and livestock in Asia. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130172408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130171911.htm It took about 10 million generations for terrestrial mammals to hit their maximum mass: that's about the size of a cat evolving into the size of an elephant. Sea mammals, such as whales took about half the number of generations to hit their maximum. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:19:19 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130171911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130171909.htm Scientists have for the first time measured how fast large-scale evolution can occur in mammals, showing it takes 24 million generations for a mouse-sized animal to evolve to the size of an elephant. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:19:19 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130171909.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129232818.htm Killer whales are the top marine predator. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behavior and diet in the Arctic. Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:28:28 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129232818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127140528.htm Hundreds of rare, endemic species in the Central Andes remain unprotected and are increasingly under threat from development and climate change, according to a new study. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:05:05 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127140528.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126143653.htm Location matters for birds on the hunt for caterpillars, according to researchers. Findings suggest that chickadees and others zero in on the type of tree as much as the characteristics of their wriggly prey. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126143653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126142908.htm Fish biologists conducted one of the first studies of deep-sea fish sounds in more than 50 years, 2,237 feet under the Atlantic. With recording technology more affordable, fish sounds can be studied to test the idea that fish communicate with sound, especially those in the dark of the deep ocean. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126142908.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126100633.htm It comes as a surprise to many that male house mice produce melodious songs to attract mates.  Unfortunately for us, because the melodies are in the ultra-sonic range human ears cannot detect them.  Through spectrographic analyses of the vocalizations of wild house mice, researchers have found that the songs of male mice contain signals of individuality and kinship.  Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:06:06 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126100633.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125091341.htm Archeologists have documented a series of more than 7,500-year-old fish seines (nets) and traps near Moscow. The equipment found, among the oldest in Europe, displays a great technical complexity. The survey will allow us to understand the role of fishing among the European settlements by early Holocene (10,000 years ago), especially in those areas where inhabitants did not practice agriculture until nearly the Iron Age. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:13:13 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125091341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124151945.htm The fate of the world's great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental catching and killing of dolphins, porpoises, manatees, and other warm-blooded aquatic species are rarely studied or monitored. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:19:19 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124151945.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124134431.htm Valentines Day is upon us and there is no better way to say “forever” than with the gift of a cockroach. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:44:44 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124134431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123115536.htm Land and marine iguanas and giant tortoises living close to human settlements or tourist sites in the Galapagos islands were more likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those living in more remote or protected sites on the islands, researchers report. Many of the reptiles harbor E. coli bacteria that are resistant to ampicillin, doxycycline, tetracycline, and trimethoprin/sulfamethoxazole. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:55:55 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123115536.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123101827.htm Bonobos are among the closest living relatives of humans. Like other great apes they live in groups made up of several males and females. Unlike other ape species however, male bonobos do not, in general, outrank female individuals and do not dominate them in mating contexts. Scientists have now found that in wild bonobos high-ranking males were more aggressive and their mating success was higher when compared to lower-ranking males. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123101827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123094758.htm The survival of the endangered snow leopard is looking promising thanks to scientists who have, for the first time, produced embryonic stem-like cells from the tissue of an adult leopard. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:47:47 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123094758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120122201209.htm Blind Mexican cavefish have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research shows that the cavefish are an example of convergent evolution, with several populations repeatedly, and independently, losing their sight and pigmentation. Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120122201209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120184233.htm Rising human carbon dioxide emissions may be affecting the brains and central nervous system of sea fishes with serious consequences for their survival, an international scientific team has found. Carbon dioxide concentrations predicted to occur in the ocean by the end of this century will interfere with fishes' ability to hear, smell, turn and evade predators, says a professor. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120184233.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120183806.htm Why different animals carry different amounts of fat depends on how they have solved the problem of avoiding both starving to death and being killed by predators, new research suggests. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:38:38 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120183806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119163259.htm Native birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge are in unprecedented trouble, according to a new article. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119163259.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133552.htm Pigeons come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some have feathers reaching up over their heads like a hood. Others have feathers all the way to the tips of their toes or fanned out on their tails like tiny turkeys. Now, researchers have traced the birds' family tree in an effort to sort out how all that remarkable variation came to be. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133552.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133154.htm Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new study shows that visible traits don’t always coincide with genetics: A bird from one breed may have huge foot feathers, while a closely related breed does not; yet two unrelated pigeon breeds both may have large foot feathers. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:31:31 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133154.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118173248.htm More than half of the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, the most recent calendar year of compilation, were insects -- 9,738 or 50.6 percent -- according to the 2011 State of Observed Species. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118173248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118143624.htm People living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 1,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there, according to a new article. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118143624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111742.htm Butterflies and birds are no longer able to keep up with climate change. Compared with 20 years ago, butterflies are now 135 kilometers behind the shifting climate zones and birds more than 200 kilometers, according to findings of a new study. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:17:17 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111704.htm Biologists have successfully released a Southern River terrapin (Batagur affinis) – one of the most endangered turtles on Earth – into the Sre Ambel River in Cambodia. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:17:17 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111036.htm A new study suggests that the impact of predation on juvenile Steller sea lions in the Gulf of Alaska has been significantly underestimated, creating a "productivity pit" from which their population will have difficulty recovering without a reduction of predators. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:10:10 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120118111036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117143758.htm New research shows that a warmer climate will have quite different consequences for plant species in the Arctic. While most species are expected to lose part of their current habitat, the genetic consequences will differ markedly among species. The research results will have major impact on future conservation efforts. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117143758.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116095527.htm For the past 20 years, the climate in Europe has been getting warmer. Species of bird and butterfly which thrive in cool temperatures therefore need to move further north. However, they have difficulty adapting to the warmer climate quickly enough, as shown by new research. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:55:55 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116095527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112193438.htm A new study on African bats provides a vital clue for unraveling the mysteries in Australia's battle with the deadly Hendra virus. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:34:34 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112193438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112112641.htm Researchers have come up with a way of tagging gunpowder which allows its illegal use to be detected even after it has been detonated. Based on the addition of isotopes, the technique can also be used to track and differentiate between wild fish and those from a fish farm, such as trout and salmon. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:26:26 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112112641.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110192942.htm Predators select their prey in order to eat a nutritionally balanced diet and give themselves the best chance of producing healthy offspring. A new study shows for the first time that predatory animals choose their food on the basis of its nutritional value, rather than just overall calorie content. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110192942.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110140235.htm Climate change in the form of reduced snowfall in mountains is causing powerful and cascading shifts in mountainous plant and bird communities through the increased ability of elk to stay at high elevations over winter and consume plants, according to a groundbreaking study. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110140235.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145913.htm An interactive tool developed by researchers from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station will help wind energy facility operators make informed decisions on efficient ways to reduce impacts on migratory bats. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145913.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145727.htm Representatives of a giant tortoise species that had apparently been driven to extinction by humans more than 150 years ago must be alive today, if in very small numbers. Researchers have come to this conclusion based on the "genetic footprints" of the long-lost species Chelonoidis elephantopus in the DNA of their hybrid sons and daughters. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145727.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120106110209.htm Identifying species, separating out closely related species and managing each type on its own, is an important part of any animal management system. Some species, like the two types of two-toed sloth, are so close in appearance and behavior that differentiation can be challenging. Conservation researchers have developed a mechanism for identifying these reclusive species from each other. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120106110209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105145841.htm Neurons fire in a synchronized bursting pattern in response to robust signals indicating nearby food. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:58:58 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105145841.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105145712.htm If they didn't have enough to worry about from dodging poachers, snow leopards, and landslides in Central Asia's rugged mountains, a population of endangered markhor -- a majestic wild goat species -- has contracted pneumonia. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105145712.htm