Mammals News

January 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Stronger Stress Response in Monkeys Helps Them Survive

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers used the environmental circumstances and fecal samples collected from the six years prior to the severe El Ni o drought in Costa Rica to study the relationship between the endocrinologic stress response and survival in white-faced ...

Dining out With San Francisco's Coyotes

Jan. 22, 2025 — As their traditional dining options dwindle, the native coyotes of San Francisco are shifting what they eat. A new study reveals what's on the ...

Wild Baboons Not Capable of Visual Self-Awareness When Viewing Their Own Reflection

Jan. 21, 2025 — Wild baboons failed to demonstrate visual self-recognition in a test carried out by ...

Dolphins Use a 'Fat Taste' System to Get Their Mother's Milk

Jan. 21, 2025 — Juvenile dolphins were found to have specialized receptors for fatty acids on their tongues, offering new insights into their growth and feeding ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:14pm EST

Dung Data: Manure Can Help to Improve Global Maps of Herbivore Distribution

Jan. 16, 2025 — Detailed livestock models are important for land-use planning, disaster relief and food ...

Conquest of Asia and Europe by Snow Leopards During the Last Ice Ages Uncovered

Jan. 15, 2025 — Scientists have identified fossils of snow leopards. The discovery has allowed them to trace the evolutionary history of the species during the ...

Did Prehistoric Kangaroos Run out of Food?

Jan. 9, 2025 — Prehistoric kangaroos in southern Australia had a more general diet than previously assumed, giving rise to new ideas about their survival and resilience to climate change, and the final extinction ...

Coyote Genes May Show Urban Evolution at Work

Jan. 15, 2025 — A new study outlines the ways by which city life may be shaping the evolution of urban coyotes, the highly adaptable carnivores spotted in alleyways from Berkeley, Calif., to the Bronx, in New ...

Chimpanzees Are Genetically Adapted to Local Habitats and Infections Such as Malaria

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against ...

Fossil Predator Is the Oldest Known Animal With 'Saber Teeth'

Dec. 17, 2024 — Scientists have discovered the oldest known animal with saber teeth: a predator that lived 270 million years ago. This animal, from before the age of the dinosaurs, was a dog-like creature that was ...

Dogs Trained to Sniff out Spotted Lanternflies Could Help Reduce Spread

Jan. 2, 2025 — Growers and conservationists have a new weapon to detect invasive spotted lanternflies early and limit their spread: dogs trained to sniff out egg masses that overwinter in vineyards and ...

Bats Surf Storm Fronts During Continental Migration

Jan. 2, 2025 — Birds are the undisputed champions of epic travel -- but they are not the only long-haul fliers. A handful of bats are known to travel thousands of kilometers in continental migrations across North ...

Individual Leopards Can Be Identified by Their Roars

Dec. 23, 2024 — In the first large-scale paired camera trap and autonomous recording survey for large African carnivores, researchers were able to identify individual leopards by their vocalizations with 93% ...

Study Reveals Right Whales Live 130 Years -- Or More

Dec. 20, 2024 — New research reveals that right whales can survive for more than 130 years -- almost twice as long as previously ...

Carnivorous Squirrels Documented in California

Dec. 18, 2024 — California ground squirrels hunt, kill and eat voles, reveals a new study documenting evidence of widespread carnivorous behavior among ...

Using Drones, Researchers Assess the Health of Humpback Whale Mother-Calf Pairs Across the Pacific Ocean

Dec. 17, 2024 — Biologists used drone imagery to understand how nursing humpback whale mothers and their calves fare as they cross the Pacific Ocean. Recent declines in North Pacific humpback whale reproduction and ...

New Study Finds Marine Animals Save Energy by Swimming in a Depth 'Sweet Spot'

Dec. 16, 2024 — Researchers have found that marine animals across mammals, birds and reptiles swim at similar relative depths when traveling and not feeding to save ...

New Research About Drought Impacts on Wildlife Can Inform Conservation Strategies

Dec. 16, 2024 — New research shows that many wildlife species in the U.S., like the endangered giant kangaroo rat, will face much more frequent and severe droughts in the future. By 2050-2080, year-long droughts ...

Climate and Land Use Change Threaten Traditional Food Sources in Russia's Far East

Dec. 13, 2024 — The distribution of traditional wild food sources in the Republic of Sakha could change significantly, affecting the diets and incomes of Indigenous rural communities who depend on ...

Bighorn Sheep Face Death by Avalanche in Sierra Nevada Range

Dec. 10, 2024 — Snow cover in the Sierra Nevada is expected to shrink overall as the climate warms, but avalanche frequency could remain the same or even increase at high elevations. That's bad news for bighorn ...

Conservation Paradox: Invasive Species Are Often Threatened in Their Native Range

Dec. 6, 2024 — Non-native species introduced by humans are among the main causes of global species decline -- they were partly responsible for 60 percent of the species that have become extinct worldwide in recent ...

Mammoth as Key Food Source for Ancient Americans

Dec. 4, 2024 — Scientists have uncovered the first direct evidence that ancient Americans relied primarily on mammoth and other large animals for food. Their research sheds new light on both the rapid expansion of ...

Male African Elephants Develop Distinct Personality Traits as They Age

Dec. 4, 2024 — Male African elephants have distinct personality traits, but also adapt their behavior to suit the social context, according to a new ...

The Secret to Our Big Brains Might Be in Our Gut

Dec. 4, 2024 — Brain tissue is among the most energetically costly in the body, and as a result, larger-brained mammals require more energy to support brain growth and maintenance. Exactly which biological changes ...

Uganda: Major Survey Brings New Light to Carnivore Conservation

Dec. 4, 2024 — Lion numbers in the country are at a critical low while hyenas are faring well across four major protected areas in Uganda, according to new survey ...

Warming Temperatures Impact Immune Performance of Wild Monkeys

Nov. 29, 2024 — When wild capuchin monkeys experience experience higher temperatures, the performance of their generalized immune system declines. This study illustrates how climate change many impact ...

Early North Americans Made Needles from Fur-Bearers

Nov. 27, 2024 — Paleoindians at Wyoming's LaPrele mammoth site made needles from the bones of fur-bearers, likely to creat garments from the animals' furs to keep warm in a cool ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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. ...

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, etc. Ovarian transplantation, one of those methods, ...

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 ...