Mammals News

November 23, 2024

Top Headlines

Exploring the Impact of Offshore Wind on Whale Deaths

Nov. 21, 2024 — Scientists have presented work examining the circumstances surrounding the whale deaths off the coast of New Jersey in the winter of 2022-23, which prompted concern that survey work in the area somehow contributed to their deaths. The Marine Mammal ...

Sweet Tooth Ethiopian Wolves Seen Feeding on Nectar

Nov. 20, 2024 — For the first time, Ethiopian wolves have been documented feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers. This is the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. In doing so, the wolves may act as pollinators -- ...

Florida Panthers Deemed Unaffected by Emerging Fatal Genetic Condition

Nov. 21, 2024 — Biologists have determined that Florida panthers are likely not at increased risk for contracting chronic wasting disease from eating infected ...

Fewer Than 7% of Global Hotspots for Whale-Ship Collisions Have Protection Measures in Place

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study has quantified the risk for whale-ship collisions worldwide for four geographically widespread ocean giants that are threatened by shipping: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:15pm EST

Manatees Might Be Relatively Recent Arrivals to Florida

Nov. 20, 2024 — New research suggests that while manatees are an indelible part of Florida's seascape, they might also be relatively new residents in the Sunshine ...

One or Many? Exploring the Population Groups of the Largest Animal on Earth

Nov. 15, 2024 — Hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling, the Antarctic blue whale, the world's largest animal, went from a population size of roughly 200,000 to little more than 300. The most recent ...

Generation of Rat Offspring from Ovarian Oocytes by Cross-Species Transplantation

Nov. 15, 2024 — Attempts to obtain eggs and offspring using oocytes in ovary have been made for keeping desirable traits in livestock, preserving human fertility, ...

In Greening Arctic, Caribou and Muskoxen Play Key Role

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new study highlights the importance of caribou and muskoxen to the greening Arctic tundra, linking grazing with plant phenology and abundance in the Arctic ...

More Than One Third of Vietnam's Mammal Species Are at Risk of Extinction, Study Finds

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study highlights that over one-third of Vietnam's 329 mammal species are threatened with ...

Elephant Seal Colony Declines One Year After Avian Flu Outbreak

Nov. 11, 2024 — A year after an outbreak of H5N1 killed thousands of elephant seals in Argentina, only about a third of the seals normally expected here returned, scientists ...

Study of Mountaineering Mice Sheds Light on Evolutionary Adaptation

Nov. 8, 2024 — Highland deer mice and their lowland cousins ventured on a simulated seven-week ascent to 6,000 meters. By tracking how the mice responded to cold stress and progressively lower oxygen levels, the ...

Elephant Turns a Hose Into a Sophisticated Showering Tool

Nov. 8, 2024 — Tool use isn't unique to humans. Chimpanzees use sticks as tools. Dolphins, crows, and elephants are known for their tool-use abilities, too. Now a report highlights elephants' remarkable skill in ...

Research Finds Coyotes Thriving Despite Human and Predator Pressures

Nov. 6, 2024 — Research sheds light on how coyotes, North America's most successful predators, are responding to various environmental pressures, including human development, hunting and competition with larger ...

Improving Deer Health One Test at a Time

Oct. 30, 2024 — The cervid livestock business is one of the fastest-growing industries in rural America. In Missouri alone, more than 250 farms are dedicated to raising deer. To improve overall herd health and ...

Dog-Owner Interaction Is Reflected in Heart Rate Variability

Nov. 8, 2024 — A recent study showed that the heart rate variability of a dog and its owner adapt to each other during interaction. High heart rate variability is associated with relaxation, while low heart rate ...

Power of Aesthetic Species on Social Media Boosts Wildlife Conservation Efforts, Say Experts

Nov. 8, 2024 — Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a new ...

Washington Coast Avian Flu Outbreak Devastated Caspian Terns, Jumped to Seals

Nov. 6, 2024 — An epidemiological study found that 56 percent of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state. ...

New Methods for Whale Tracking and Rendezvous Using Autonomous Robots

Oct. 31, 2024 — Today, a research team has proposed a new reinforcement learning framework with autonomous drones to find sperm whales and predict where they will ...

High Survival Rates Explain 20 Years of Rapid Expansion of Wolves in Germany

Oct. 31, 2024 — Since wolves returned to Germany 20 years ago, they have spread quickly in many parts of the country. The rapid increase in the number of wolves was due to high survival and reproduction rates in ...

Discovery Illuminates How Sleeping Sickness Parasite Outsmarts Immune Response

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study sheds light on how the blood-borne parasite that causes African sleeping sickness in humans and related diseases in cattle and other animals establishes long-term infections in hosts. ...

Large Herbivores Have Lived in Yellowstone National Park for More Than 2,000 Years

Oct. 30, 2024 — Large herbivores like bison or elk have continuously lived in the Yellowstone National Park region for about 2,300 years, according to a new analysis of chemicals preserved in lake ...

Sinuses Prevented Prehistoric Crocodile Relatives from Deep Diving

Oct. 30, 2024 — Paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and ...

Weddell Seals in the Antarctic Strategically Time Their Most Extreme Dives to Maximize Foraging

Oct. 29, 2024 — Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on ice. However, these seals, which are the southernmost population of the southernmost living mammals, are ...

Move Along, Moose: Study Reveals the 'Most Canadian' Animals

Oct. 25, 2024 — What is the 'most Canadian' animal? Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. A new study ranks species of terrestrial vertebrates in Canada by their level of Canadian evolutionary ...

Crustacean With Panda-Like Coloring Confirmed to Be a New Species

Oct. 24, 2024 — Decades after it was first found in Japan, a crustacean species with unique black-and-white coloring resembling a panda has been confirmed to be new to ...

Dolphins Sense Military Sonar at Much Lower Levels Than Regulators Predict

Oct. 23, 2024 — Scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals were sensitive ...

Polar Bears' Exposure to Pathogens Is Increasing as Their Environment Changes

Oct. 23, 2024 — As the Arctic warms, polar bears now face a greater risk of contracting several pathogens than bears three decades ago, according to a new ...

Fossils Unveil How Southern Europe's Ecosystem Changed Through Glacial-Interglacial Stages

Oct. 23, 2024 — Fossils from more than 600,000 years ago reveal how Southern Europe's animal community shifted between warm and cold climate fluctuations, according to a new ...

Paleontologists Discover Colorado 'Swamp Dweller' That Lived Alongside Dinosaurs

Oct. 23, 2024 — The new mammal lived in Colorado 70 to 75 million years ago -- a time when a vast inland sea covered large portions of the state, and animals like sharks, turtles and giant crocodiles ...

Saving the Bats: Researchers Find Bacteria, Fungi on Bat Wings That Could Help Fight Deadly White-Nose Syndrome

Oct. 23, 2024 — Bacteria and fungi from the wings of bats could play a significant role in saving them from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease affecting the skin of wings and muzzle, which has nearly wiped ...

Paws of Polar Bears Sustaining Ice-Related Injuries in a Warming Arctic

Oct. 22, 2024 — Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing ...

Researcher Works to Preserve the White Shark in the Mediterranean Sea

Oct. 22, 2024 — Biologists are working to save one of the most endangered white shark populations on the planet. The research team located signs of the remaining white sharks in the Sicilian ...

Plastic Pollution Sounds Just Like Food to Deep-Diving Whales

Oct. 17, 2024 — To whales that hunt with soundwaves in lightless ocean depths, a torn plastic party balloon and a delicious squid may appear remarkably similar, according to a study. Underwater acoustic testing with ...

Microplastics Detected in Dolphin Breath

Oct. 17, 2024 — U.S. researchers have detected microplastic particles in air exhaled by wild bottlenose dolphins, suggesting that inhalation may be a relevant route of exposure to these potentially harmful ...