Animals

It’s a cub! Watch the National Zoo’s Giant Panda give birth

Get out the party hats, a giant panda has been born! Yesterday afternoon, Mei Xiang, one of the ursine residents of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, gave birth to another little cub. Time to turn on the panda cam! The panda team saw Mei Xiang’s water break around 3:36pm ET yesterday, and at 5:32pm, she gave…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 24

The Most Ridiculous Animals That Superheroes Have Copied

Spider-Man. Batman. Rhino. Black Panther. What do these character have in common? They are superheroes and villains whose personas are based on animals, bugs and other creatures that are legitimately dangerous. But not all comic characters have chosen so wisely. Here are just a few heroes and bad guys that should have picked up a…

io9 Rob Bricken Aug 23

Those Adorable Animal Pics May Be Fake—and Cruel

The internet consists of two major ingredients: Porn, and adorable animals. Everything else is pretty much a churning sea of virulence and racism. But what if we told you that those animal pics actually ain’t so pretty? As it turns out, there’s a chance many of them could be faked—and in some pretty cruel ways…

Biology Ashley Feinberg Aug 20

Disney’s Bears trailer puts teeny tiny baby bear feet in your face

Meet Sky and her newborn squeaky bear cubs. Now get ready to feel all the feelings, as the cute bears in Disney’s Bears movie explore this big, beautiful world. Just in case the title wasn’t enough of a synopsis for you, here’s more: In an epic story of breathtaking scale, Disneynature’s new True Life Adventure…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 15

12 More Real Animals We Can’t Believe Aren’t Pokémon

Earlier this year we told you about a dozen true-to-life animals that seem better suited to the pages of a certain anime than the jungle. Thankfully, nature is generous when it comes to producing completely whacked-out organisms. Here are 12 more animals that we can’t believe really exist. https://gizmodo.com/12-real-animals-we-cant-believe-arent-pokemon-5982206 1. Brazilian Tree Hopper The Facts:…

io9 Rob Bricken and George Dvorsky Aug 15

Why Is the USDA Storing 700,000 Vials of Frozen Sperm in Colorado?

When a drive through America’s heartland showcases mile after mile of cow-filled field, it’s easy to overlook the most sobering of all possibilities. These wonderful delicious animals could all get wiped out one day, leaving the world burgerless and milk free. Don’t worry. The USDA is on the case. In Fort Collins, Colorado, there are…

Biology Adam Clark Estes Aug 9

The Most Overused Animal Stereotypes in Pop Culture

When it comes to fiction, an animal is never just animal. Animals always symbolize things — and they usually symbolize the same thing over and over. For example, a crow isn’t just a common bird who happens to be nearby, it’s a dark portent of bad things to come. Here are the most overused animal…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Aug 8

The Weirdest Animal Movie (and TV) Stars of All Time

This summer’s kids’ movies are full of weird animal characters, from Turbo the snail to Azrael in The Smurfs II. But Hollywood would have to try a lot harder to match the weirdness of its classic funny-animal films. Here are the weirdest animal movie stars in history. Francis, the talking mule (voiced by Chill Wills)…

io9 Vincze Miklós Aug 7

Costa Rica Is Actually Closing All Of Its Zoos

Beginning in March 2014, the two government-owned zoos in Costa Rica will be closed. The country is known for prioritizing environmental conservation, and zoo closures are a major step that animal rights and environmental advocates have been supporting worldwide for years. And Costa Rica really doesn’t need artificial diversity given that the country houses 500,000…

Biology Lily Hay Newman Aug 4

A Fuelband-like Collar Shows You What Life Is Like As a Polar Bear

Those nifty Fuelbands and activity trackers can measure pretty much anything you do and even knows when you’re having sex. So why not use similar technology to try and understand mysterious animals like the Polar Bear. That makes so much sense! And even better, why not add a GoPro camera to see what life is…

Biology Casey Chan Jul 30

Snoring duck is America’s new favorite animal (video)

Do ducks snore? Of course they do. But you probably have never seen very cute video of a sleeping duck snoring. Experts say all snoring is very annoying unless an adorable little duck is the one guilty of snoring.

Sploid Ken Layne Jul 22

These Macro Shots of Animal Eyes Are Beautifully Striking

This amazing image isn’t a black hole sucking up the contents of the Universe, or an aerial shot of some dark mysterious lake. In fact, it’s the eye of a Basiliscus lizard, photographed by Suren Manvelyan. Part of a series of amazing macro images, this close-up of the live-and-kicking lizards joins pictures of animals you’ve…

Biology Jamie Condliffe Jul 22

9 Animals That Would Make Great Superheroes

Plenty of superheroes and supervillains are animal themed, taking on the grace of a cat or the strength of a spider. But there are animals who are super in their own right, with abilities perfectly suited to saving the day. Top photo by Robin L. Here’s our imaginary lineup for the Animal Kingdom of Superheroes.…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 14

What Different Languages Think Different Animals Sound Like

Hello. Hola. Bonjour. Ni Hao. We all say things differently because each language has their own words. Like, duh. But what about how different languages think animals sound? We’re not exactly saying words as much as we are simply enunciating simple sounds and yet, different languages have their own take on each animal sound too.…

Biology Casey Chan Jul 10

How Dogs Become Awesome Bomb Sniffing Dogs

Because my imagination is trapped within the confines of my human pea brain, I always giggle to myself when I see dogs sniff anything and everything they run into. But dogs have 50 times more olfactory cells than we do! Of course they would put it to good use. And of course our human pea…

Biology Casey Chan Jul 9

Slow Motion X-Ray Footage Reveals the Secrets of Bat Wings

If you happen to see a bat flying around you in real life, it’s easy to panic and not see much of anything but a vague blur as you cover your head and cower. But they’re actually pretty graceful when you really look at them. And new slow motion, x-ray footage just goes to show…

Biology Eric Limer Jul 6

Beloved Extinct Tortoise “Lonesome George” Stuffed For Museum Display

When the humongous Galápagos tortoise known as “Lonesome George” died in 2012, the last of his particular species died too. Now the American Museum of Natural History has the chance to display the taxidermied tortoise so kids can learn about creatures forever lost to time.

Sploid Ken Layne Jul 1

A Lame Duck Is Walking Again Thanks to a 3D Printed Foot

Buttercup the duck was born with his left foot turned backwards, making it nearly impossible and extremely painful to walk. But now he’s waddling again with a 3D-printed foot. Buttercup was born in a high school biology lab in November. Because of his bum foot he was given to Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington,…

Biology Leslie Horn Jul 1

Science Shocker: Mouse Cloned From Single Drop of Blood

Mad scientists in Japan have cloned an entire mouse from a single drop of blood. This is good news for the world’s lab animals, which generally have to be killed before their cells are extracted for a clone.

Sploid Ken Layne Jun 27

This Two-Headed Turtle Is America’s New Favorite Animal

Meet “Thelma and Louise,” a two-headed female turtle just born at San Antonio’s zoo. Known as Texas River Cooters, these freshwater turtles are common along the state’s rivers. Thelma and Louise are doing fine and can swim along with the other baby turtles.

Sploid Ken Layne Jun 27

It’s a cub! Watch the National Zoo’s Giant Panda give birth

The Most Ridiculous Animals That Superheroes Have Copied

Those Adorable Animal Pics May Be Fake—and Cruel

Disney’s Bears trailer puts teeny tiny baby bear feet in your face

12 More Real Animals We Can’t Believe Aren’t Pokémon

Why Is the USDA Storing 700,000 Vials of Frozen Sperm in Colorado?

The Most Overused Animal Stereotypes in Pop Culture

The Weirdest Animal Movie (and TV) Stars of All Time

Costa Rica Is Actually Closing All Of Its Zoos

A Fuelband-like Collar Shows You What Life Is Like As a Polar Bear

Snoring duck is America’s new favorite animal (video)

These Macro Shots of Animal Eyes Are Beautifully Striking

9 Animals That Would Make Great Superheroes

What Different Languages Think Different Animals Sound Like

How Dogs Become Awesome Bomb Sniffing Dogs

Slow Motion X-Ray Footage Reveals the Secrets of Bat Wings

Beloved Extinct Tortoise “Lonesome George” Stuffed For Museum Display

A Lame Duck Is Walking Again Thanks to a 3D Printed Foot

Science Shocker: Mouse Cloned From Single Drop of Blood

This Two-Headed Turtle Is America’s New Favorite Animal

Anthropic’s New Model Is So Scarily Powerful It Won’t Be Released, Anthropic Says

Musk Asks Court to Give Potential Winnings in OpenAI Suit to OpenAI’s Nonprofit

Pro-Iran Hackers Target Critical U.S. Energy and Water Infrastructure

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