New Zealand has some weird birds, and they know it. Sure, you’ve probably seen the Seussian kiwi, but what about the kākāpo, a flightless parrot that looks like a particularly friendly owl? Have you heard of the morepork, an owl so named because it sounds like it shouts “MORE PORK,” or the wrybill, the only bird with…
It’s hard to imagine your housecat as a particularly savvy killer. Sure, it may swat at a shoelace dangled in its face, or bunny-kick its favorite fish toy when it’s in, you know, a mood. It may even catch a bug now and then. But your cat probably spends most of the day delicately curled up on the couch, seemingly…
It sounds like a B-rated science fiction movie: wallabies implanted with microchips opening their own personal pet doors when they want to come home.
Baby iguanas, Chinese water dragons, or even ball pythons are undoubtedly cute and tempting to own as pets. But these popular reptiles don’t stay small forever. And according to new research, they are precisely the kind most likely to be released into the wild by humans.
In 2017, marine biologist Erasmo Macaya was shocked to discover bits of kelp on the remote Antarctic island of King George, hundreds of miles from its natural habitat. He knew he’d found something strange, but he wasn’t aware he’d just uncovered evidence of a journey spanning over 10,000 miles—one that could portend a…
Bird turds can tell you a lot about an island. For instance, is it smelly or not? But also, how are the coral reefs doing?
Feral cats are an ecological scourge, wreaking havoc on wild mammal, bird, and reptile populations. That doesn’t make the impact of these rogue floof monsters on Australia’s reptile population any less astonishing, though.
Madagascar has an invasive toad problem, and new research suggests that fears about its ecological consequences are well-deserved. Almost every predator native to the island is likely sensitive to the toads’ dangerous toxins.
France is known for many of its cultural items, including exceptional cuisine, wine, and the Louvre. Soon, it may also be known for its arm-length, shovel-headed, carnivorous worms.
It is a cannibalistic, fist-sized frog covered in a noxious mucous secretion that burns your eyes. Its affinity for human structures leads it to clog drains and short-out the utility switches in which they lurk. They are spreading through the U.S. and we can’t stop them. Several message board commenters report that…
Don’t underestimate the humble caterpillar. While it might not look all that dangerous compared to humans mainly worried about stings and bites, many varieties are covered in toxic spines, as residents of London are being warned this weekend.
Pollution isn’t the only thing the 2017 hurricane season spread far and wide. Plants and animals were sloshed around by the storms too, and some wound up far from home, setting the stage for new ecological invasions.
The Western Governors’ Association published its first-ever list of the 50 worst invasive species inhabiting that region of the country on Thursday, and some of the culprits may surprise you.
As part of a $63,000 research project to devise new and effective ways of pruning back the skyrocketing iguana population in south Florida, wildlife officials in the state have started to smash in the heads of iguanas, saying it’s a quick and “humane” form of euthanasia. Sounds dreadful—and it is—but the situation in…
A new insect invader is spreading in eastern North America’s pine forests, and it’s causing trouble wherever its wings can carry it.
Invasive Burmese pythons have become the ravenous, ever-multiplying scourge of South Florida. But new research suggests that the snakes have brought more than just their teeth and appetites to the Sunshine State. They’ve also brought along their own parasites, which are now infecting native snakes.
America’s Ash trees are facing extinction. And the impact of their loss in our forests, cities, and backyards will not be small.
Lionfish have very low standards and will eat anything in sight. Although they’re originally from the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, these vacuum cleaners have been flopping around the Atlantic for the last 25 years, probably because people dumped them from their home aquariums. They’re so stupidly hungry and…
After performing an autopsy on a bloated Burmese python, scientists in Florida were shocked to discover the remains of three white-tailed deer.
Hordes of lionfish have been roaming the Atlantic for several decades now, and their voracious appetite—and lack of natural predators—has seriously upset the ecological balance of those waters. Now there’s a new foundation devoted to building robots to hunt them down—a Terminator for lionfish.
