Mammals News

December 5, 2023

Top Headlines

Mice Pass the Mirror Test, a Classic Indicator of Self-Recognition

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers report that mice display behavior that resembles self-recognition when they see themselves in the mirror. When the researchers marked the foreheads of black-furred mice with a spot of white ink, the mice spent more time grooming their ...

In Hotter Regions, Mammals Seek Forests, Avoid Human Habitats

Dec. 4, 2023 — As the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation, finds a study of North American ...

New Study Identifies the Greatest Threat to Wildlife Across North America and Canada: People

Dec. 4, 2023 — A biology student studied more than 600,000 wildlife rehabilitation center records to look at the human impact on wild animals, from lead poisonings to window strikes to vehicle ...

Vulnerability of England's Only Resident Bottlenose Dolphins

Nov. 29, 2023 — New research has provided a detailed examination of England's bottlenose dolphin population's existence and the challenges it faces from human activities and environmental factors on a daily ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:07pm EST

Skunks' Warning Stripes Less Prominent Where Predators Are Sparse, Study Finds

Nov. 21, 2023 — Striped skunks are less likely to evolve with their famous and white markings where the threat of predation from mammals is low, scientists have ...

Curators and Cavers: How a Tip from a Citizen Scientist Led to Deep Discoveries in Utah's Caves

Nov. 21, 2023 — Scientists and colleagues from Utah's caving community have published the first research from their collaborative fieldwork effort deep in Utah's ...

Earliest Known European Common Hippopotamus Fossil Reveals Their Middle Pleistocene Dispersal

Nov. 22, 2023 — Modern hippos first dispersed in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, according to a new ...

Researchers Develop Comprehensive Genetic Map for Bison, Discover Gene Responsible for Albinism

Nov. 20, 2023 — Researchers have determined the gene mutation responsible for an observable trait in bison -- ...

Half of Tested Caviar Products from Europe Are Illegal, and Some Aren't Even Caviar

Nov. 20, 2023 — Wild caviar, a pricey delicacy made from sturgeon eggs, has been illegal for decades since poaching brought the fish to the brink of extinction. ...

Idai Vs. Impalas: New Study Shows in Real-Time What Helps Mammals Survive a Natural Disaster

Nov. 17, 2023 — After a massive cyclone transformed the ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park, researchers studied the immediate and knock-on impacts to ...

'Wolves Like Cherry-Picking': Modelling Shows How They Recolonized Germany and Where They Could Live in the Future

Nov. 16, 2023 — The return of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) to Germany, which began 23 years ago in the region of Lusatia in Eastern Germany, is a process of great ...

Bear Genes Show Circadian Rhythms Even During Hibernation

Nov. 16, 2023 — The internal clocks of grizzly bears appear to keep ticking through hibernation, according to a genetic study. This persistence highlights the strong role of circadian rhythms in the metabolism of ...

WhaleVis Turns More Than a Century of Whaling Data Into an Interactive Map

Nov. 16, 2023 — A team has created an interactive dashboard called WhaleVis, which lets users map data on global whale catches and whaling routes from 1880 to 1986. Scientists can compare this historical data and ...

More Than Meows: How Bacteria Help Cats Communicate

Nov. 16, 2023 — Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Found at Last: Bizarre, Egg-Laying Mammal Finally Rediscovered After 60 Years

Nov. 9, 2023 — A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of ...

First Live Birth of a Chimeric Monkey Using Embryonic Stem Cell Lines

Nov. 9, 2023 — A team of researchers has reported for the first time the live birth of a monkey that contains a high proportion of cells derived from a monkey stem cell line. This 'chimeric' monkey is ...

Feral Horses and Peatland Carbon Emissions

Nov. 8, 2023 — A ground-breaking new study has found carbon emissions from Australian alpine peatlands to be much higher in areas disturbed by feral ...

Southern Alaska's National Forests Key to Meeting Climate, Conservation Goals

Nov. 8, 2023 — Analyses of U.S. national forests shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity ...

New Secrets About Cat Evolution Revealed

Nov. 2, 2023 — By comparing genomes of several cat species, the project has helped researchers understand why cat genomes tend to have fewer complex genetic variations (such as rearrangements of DNA segments) than ...

Research Outlines How Sex Differences Have Evolved

Nov. 2, 2023 — Researchers have shown that sex differences in animals vary dramatically across species, organs and developmental stages, and evolve quickly at the gene level but slowly at the cell type ...

The Ringed Seals in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland Are Special

Nov. 1, 2023 — Local hunters in the Icefjord near Ilulissat have long known about a special ringed seal -- the Kangia seal -- which is significantly larger and has a markedly different fur color and pattern than ...

Advanced Assisted Reproduction in White Rhinos Is Safe and Reliable, Shows Evaluation of Procedures

Oct. 31, 2023 — The BioRescue project develops and pioneers advanced assisted reproduction technologies (aART) for conservation in the face of the imminent extinction of most rhino species and subspecies. In a new ...

Researchers Observe Wolves Hunting and Killing Sea Otters and Harbor Seals on Alaska's Katmai Coast

Oct. 31, 2023 — Firsthand observations of a wolf hunting and killing a harbor seal and a group of wolves hunting and consuming a sea otter on Alaska's Katmai coast have led scientists to reconsider assumptions ...

Evolutionary Chance Made This Bat a Specialist Hunter

Oct. 27, 2023 — It is generally believed that, for millions of years, bats and the insects they hunt at night have adapted to each other in an evolutionary arms race to become better at finding or avoiding each ...

Protein Root Discovery Seals Future of Climate-Proof Plants

Oct. 27, 2023 — Researchers have discovered a protein that seals plant roots to regulate the uptake of nutrients and water from the soil, the discovery could help develop climate proof crops that require less water ...

Fruit, Nectar, Bugs and Blood: How Bat Teeth and Jaws Evolved for a Diverse Dinnertime

Oct. 26, 2023 — Noctilionoid bat species evolved wildly different faces as they adapted to exploit diverse food sources -- including insects, fruit, nectar, blood and fish. New research shows that those adaptations ...

Endangered Whales Live in Area Earmarked for Gas Exploration

Oct. 26, 2023 — Endangered whales and dolphins live year-round in an area of the Mediterranean earmarked for oil and gas exploration, new research ...

Research Reveals Three New Marsupial Species -- Though All Likely Extinct

Oct. 25, 2023 — The exciting discovery of three new species of a small Australian marsupial has been tempered by the sad fact that each of the newly identified species of mulgara is likely already ...

Scientists Uncover Cause of Mysterious Deaths of Elephants in Zimbabwe

Oct. 24, 2023 — A bacterium, closely associated with deadly septicaemia, could have caused the deaths of six African elephants in Zimbabwe and possibly more in neighboring countries. The findings place infectious ...

Imprinted Genes in the 'Parenting Hub' of the Brain Determine If Mice Are Good Parents

Oct. 19, 2023 — Whether a mouse is a good or bad parent can be traced back to imprinted genes in key neurons in the 'parenting hub' in the brain, according to a new ...

Holy Bat Skull! Fossil Adds Vital Piece to Bat Evolution Puzzle

Oct. 19, 2023 — Bats may have lived in caves and used soundwaves to navigate much earlier than first ...

Racing to Defuse a 'Ticking' Public Health Time Bomb

Oct. 18, 2023 — The explosive rise in tick-borne diseases in many parts of the United States over the last five decades represents a major public health threat that demands innovative solutions, warns a group of ...

Protecting Polar Bears: New and Improved Radar Technology

Oct. 18, 2023 — Research testing new technology to more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic is showing promising results. Researchers hope that improving detection tools to locate dens -- which are ...

Whaling Wiped out Far More Fin Whales Than Previously Thought

Oct. 17, 2023 — Whaling in the 20th century destroyed 99% of the Eastern North Pacific fin whale breeding population. Because there is enough genetic diversity, current conservation measures should help the ...

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