A violent encounter between the two factions of Ngogo chimpanzees Aaron Sandel A once harmonious group of wild chimpanzees has split into two, leading to intractable conflict and escalating violence. Researchers say the rift suggests that human wars are a deeply rooted part of our nature, rather than something that emerged recently as our culture…
Emperor penguins could go extinct by 2100 Stefan Christmann/naturepl.com Two of Antarctica’s most iconic species, the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) and the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella), have declined so dramatically and rapidly that they have been classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. A third Antarctic species, the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina),…
Artist’s reconstruction of the ancient ocean ecosystem preserved in the Jiangchuan biota Xiaodong Wang A huge and beautifully preserved suite of fossils discovered in China has cast doubt on the idea that complex life flourished dramatically during a rapid burst of evolution known as the Cambrian explosion. This event, spanning roughly 541 million to 513…
A male webfoot octopus (Amphioctopus fangsiao) with its hectocotylus curled up (upper left) Keijiro Haruki For a male octopus, there is one appendage it cannot afford to lose. This is its third right arm, which has a specialised role in sex. Therefore, they take extra care to protect it. A new study led by Keijiro…
Female sperm whales hold the newborn calf above water until it can swim on its own Project CETI A sperm whale giving birth has been assisted by 10 other females in her social unit – the first time such an event has ever been observed in non-primates. In July 2023, scientists who have been monitoring…
When sperm-whale calves are born, weighing about a ton, they are pretty helpless. They can’t immediately swim—their flukes are bent from being cramped in the womb—and, to use the technical term, they are “negatively buoyant.” Left to their own devices, they will sink. What the footage showed is that, for the first three hours of…
A northern tamandua – a kind of anteater – using the fig tree latrine Tropical Canopy Ecology Project A host of tree mammal species, including opossums, two-toed sloths and wild cats, have been found sharing a latrine in the forest canopy. Jeremy Quirós-Navarro, an independent ecologist in Costa Rica at the time, first discovered a…
