Animals
This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two
The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.
Animals
More Stories in Animals
- Oceans
Explainer: What are corals?
Though they can look like rocks or plants, corals are animals. Most are made up of colonies of individuals called polyps.
- Animals
Watch the first sperm whale birth caught on video by scientists
The footage shows other sperm whales huddled around the mother, helping lift the newborn calf to the surface until it’s ready to swim.
- Animals
Physics explains how snakes climb and stand without limbs
Tree snakes can raise their body into the air without falling over. They keep their balance by bending their bodies close to their base.
- Animals
Emperor penguins are on the march — toward extinction
Along with Antarctic fur seals, these iconic birds, the largest of all penguins, are now endangered by their continent’s warming.
- Animals
Animals can feel joy. Here’s how scientists might study it
Research has long focused on understanding negative emotions like fear in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings like joy. It’s a challenge.
- Animals
Analyze This: How many insects are in the air?
Weather data have helped estimate the density of flying insects in U.S. skies. That could help track climate change’s impact on insects.
- Animals
This tool-using cow stunned scientists with her smarts
Veronika the cow scratches hard-to-reach body parts using a brush. This feat is forcing scientists to rethink which animals can use tools.
- Animals
Flat-faced dogs often struggle to breathe easy
Pugs and bulldogs aren’t the only dogs with breathing problems. Pekingese, Japanese chins and other squish-faced breeds have this issue, too.
- Tech
Backyard leafhoppers inspire next-generation cloaking tech
Engineers are borrowing this insect’s trick, an "invisibility cloak" of anti-reflective spheres. It could lead to new clean energy tech or military gear.
