Mammals News

April 12, 2025

Top Headlines

Apr. 9, 2025 — Rhinos that flourished across much of North America 12 million years ago gathered in huge herds, according to a new ...

How a Small Number of Mutations Can Fuel Outbreaks of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus

Apr. 4, 2025 — New research shows how small shifts in the molecular makeup of a virus can profoundly alter its fate. These shifts could turn a deadly pathogen into a harmless bug or supercharge a relatively benign ...

Monkeys Are World's Best Yodellers -- New Research

Apr. 2, 2025 — A new study has found that the world's finest yodellers aren't from Austria or Switzerland, but the rainforests of Latin America. The research provides significant new insights into the diverse vocal sounds of non-human primates, and reveals for the ...

Mammals Were Adapting from Life in the Trees to Living on the Ground Before Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid

Apr. 1, 2025 — More mammals were living on the ground several million years before the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, new research has ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:11pm EDT

Scientists Solve 'Cocktail Party' Mystery of Bat Echolocation

Mar. 31, 2025 — Every night, bats emerge out of roosts in massive numbers, creating what scientists have called a 'cocktail party nightmare' of clashing echolocations. Nobody knew how bats managed this severe ...

Why Scientists Are Worried About Weasels

Mar. 28, 2025 — Weasels are often difficult to capture on camera, making it hard for conservationists to track their population numbers. This study aimed to determine the best material to use as bait for camera ...

Aotearoa Once Home to Elephant Seals

Mar. 20, 2025 — Southern elephant seals are the 'canary in the coal mine' for the Southern Ocean, offering insight into how the ecosystem may react to future climate change and human impact, new research ...

Tiny Musky Rat-Kangaroos Hold the Key to Explain Why 'Roos Hop

Mar. 19, 2025 — To understand why kangaroos hop -- a rarity among animals -- researchers have studied the musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), a diminutive marsupial that weighs only 500 grams but is the ...

Conservation Efforts Are Bringing Species Back from the Brink, Even as Overall Biodiversity Falls

Mar. 18, 2025 — A major review of over 67,000 animal species has found that while the natural world continues to face a biodiversity crisis, targeted conservation ...

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors (With Carnivores)

Mar. 17, 2025 — A new study has found that fortified enclosures also benefit nearby livestock keepers by preventing carnivore ...

Wolves Make a Rapid Recovery in Europe

Mar. 17, 2025 — Wolf populations in Europe increased by nearly 60 percent in a decade, according to a new ...

New Name for One of the World's Rarest Rhinoceroses

Mar. 13, 2025 — A recent study has reclassified the species commonly known as the Javan rhinoceros, proposing a more precise scientific name: Eurhinoceros sondaicus. The research highlights key differences in body ...

No Need to Wing It: Bat Activity in Winter Analyzed

Mar. 12, 2025 — Winter in the South can bring about a sharp change in conditions that impact forests and their many inhabitants. However, new research finds that, despite these seasonal shifts, forest management ...

Discovery: The Great Whale Pee Funnel Moves Vital Nutrients

Mar. 10, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that whales move nutrients thousands of miles -- in their urine -- from as far as Alaska to Hawaii. These tons of nitrogen support the health of tropical ecosystems and ...

Man's Best Friend May Be Nature's Worst Enemy, Study on Pet Dogs Suggests

Apr. 10, 2025 — New research into the overlooked environmental impact of pet dogs has found far-reaching negative effects on wildlife, ecosystems and ...

What's on the Menu for Ryukyu's Minute Mammals?

Apr. 8, 2025 — Japan's Ryukyu Islands, which includes Okinawa, are the exclusive home to two rare mammals, the Amami rabbit and Ryukyu long-furred rat. These animals are hard to observe, but conservationists ...

Suspected Fibrocartilaginous Embolus in Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx Cinereus)

Apr. 4, 2025 — A research team investigated the case of a male Asian small-clawed otter that fell down the stairs while sleeping, after which it developed left-sided ...

A Longer, Sleeker Super Predator: Megalodon's True Form

Mar. 9, 2025 — The megalodon has long been imagined as an enormous great white shark, but new research suggests that perception is all wrong. The study finds the prehistoric hunter had a much longer body -- closer ...

Tracking Polar Bears During Their Most Secretive Stage of Life

Mar. 6, 2025 — Researchers have combined satellite collar data with specialized cameras to shed light on one of the most mysterious and important stages in polar bears' lives -- maternal denning, when bears ...

Caribou Migration Patterns Are Shrinking

Mar. 5, 2025 — The study shows caribou herds changed their migratory duration, distance or elevation over 35 years of radio tag ...

Genetic Mixing: The Secret to Killer Whale Resilience and Adaptability

Mar. 4, 2025 — Killer whale populations in low latitudes have high genetic diversity despite having low population densities, as a result of genetic mixing, which plays a crucial role in their survival and ...

Caribou Case Study Offers a New Model to Manage Species at Risk

Mar. 3, 2025 — Researchers are suggesting a more comprehensive approach for identifying at-risk wildlife populations -- such as caribou -- based on individual movement patterns. The article uses a long-term dataset ...

Drone Captures Narwhals Using Their Tusks to Explore, Forage and Play

Feb. 28, 2025 — Using drones, 17 distinct behaviors of narwhals were captured in the wild. Findings reveal complex behaviors of the Arctic's iconic whale never seen before. This highly gregarious whale uses its ...

When the Wild Things Are: Surprising Details of Mammalian Daily Activity

Feb. 26, 2025 — A team has gathered photographic data on daily mammalian activity, studying 445 total species around the world with surprising results. The project generated a massive dataset of animal images ...

Eavesdropping on Whale Songs Sparks New Discoveries in Whale Ecology

Feb. 26, 2025 — Eavesdropping on baleen whale songs in the Pacific Ocean reveals year-to-year variations that track changes in the availability of the species they forage on, according to a new ...

Bite-Size Clue May Help Rediscover the Missing Desert Rat-Kangaroo

Feb. 25, 2025 — An intriguing native Australian rat-kangaroo, thought to be probably extinct, may still be running around in the inhospitable remote Sturt Stony Desert -- and researchers have discovered new details ...

Bigger Animals Get More Cancer, Defying Decades-Old Belief

Feb. 24, 2025 — Bigger animals consistently show higher prevalence of both benign and malignant ...

Unexpected Discoveries in Study of Giraffe Gut Flora

Feb. 24, 2025 — The gut bacteria of giraffes are not primarily determined by what they eat, but by the species they belong to. This is shown in a new study in which researchers have analyzed the link between diet ...

Underwater Mics and Machine Learning Aid Right Whale Conservation

Feb. 21, 2025 — Using underwater microphones and machine learning (ML), researchers have developed a new method to estimate North Atlantic right whale numbers -- offering a potentially safer and more cost-effective ...

Unraveling the Mystery of the Missing Blue Whale Calves

Feb. 21, 2025 — Only two births of a blue whale have ever been recorded. Mother and calf pairs are also sighted much more rarely than might be expected. The reason, new research suggests, has to do with where and ...

Near-Complete Skull Discovery Reveals 'Top Apex', Leopard-Sized 'Fearsome' Carnivore

Feb. 17, 2025 — A rare discovery of a nearly complete skull in the Egyptian desert has led scientists to the 'dream' revelation of a new 30-million-year-old species of the ancient apex predatory carnivore, ...

Reintroducing Wolves to Scottish Highlands Could Help Address Climate Emergency

Feb. 17, 2025 — Reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands could lead to an expansion of native woodland which could take in and store one million tons of CO2 annually, according to a new ...

Function of Red Stigmas in Wind-Pollinated Flowers

Feb. 13, 2025 — Scientists discovered that the red stigmas in wind-pollinated trees accumulate anthocyanin, the same compounds that are revealed in autumn leaves after green chlorophyll production slows down and ...

Protected Habitats Aren't Enough to Save Endangered Species, Study Finds

Feb. 13, 2025 — In tropical forests, endangered species inside protected habitats are still in danger from threats from beyond their sanctuaries, according to a new ...