animals0.13 min read
Jersey hedgehog freed from wall in celebrated rescue; duck treated after beak injury near Ringwood
3 days ago•Source: BBC
Animals News
The latest animals stories, summarized by AI
Featured Animals Stories
View original source
52.17 min•4 days ago
Owl Survives 70 Miles at Sea, Rescued by British Army Crew During Race
A barn owl named Little Reg, stranded about 70 miles from shore during the Round Britain and Ireland Race, was rescued by British Army crew aboard a racing boat after repeatedly falling into the sea. The emaciated bird was cared for on the boat, then taken to land for veterinary care, with conservationists calling the rescue a miracle. Little Reg is now at the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre in England, where staff say it’s improving and donors are being asked to help with supplies.
49.565 min•14 days ago
Snakes top the danger map: snakes are the deadliest animal in 14 states
More Top Stories
2
Wild Wheels: Dutch Study Finds Wild Animals Run in Nature
zmescience.com•14 days ago
3
Gemini the two-faced kitten wows Welsh cat rescue
AOL.com•1 month ago
More Animals Stories
Gemini the Janus kitten: rare two-nosed birth at Welsh cat rescue
A stray mother cat at PurrfectlyFeral in Llangedwyn, Powys, gave birth to eight kittens, including Gemini, a rare diprosopus (Janus) kitten with two noses and two mouths. Rejected by its mother, Gemini requires hourly bottle feeding and is being monitored around the clock as the rescue, funded by donations, cares for the fragile litter.
Likweli: Congo’s new rainforest monkey unveiled
Scientists have identified a new monkey species, Colobus congoensis, locally known as Likweli, in the Congolese Lomami rainforest. The elusive primate weighs about 15 pounds, spans roughly four feet from nose to tail, sports a dramatic black coat with a pink/orange mouth, and emits a low roar. Its range covers about 650 square miles, and genetic analysis suggests it diverged from its closest relative around 5 million years ago.
Ravens Map Kill Hotspots Across Yellowstone, Not Just Follow Wolves
Two-and-a-half years of GPS tracking across Yellowstone show ravens rarely follow wolves long distances; instead, they use a strong memory to repeatedly visit areas where wolf kills are likely, effectively building a mental map that guides scavenging across the landscape.
Canadian Farmer Delivers Swift Kick to Save Goat from Cougar
A Canadian farm owner, Gina Moore, intervenes to save her Nigerian dwarf goat from a cougar attack on her British Columbia farm, delivering a swift kick that deterred the predator. She says adrenaline drove her actions as the security-camera video captured the dramatic moment, and notes that habitat changes are bringing bears and cougars closer to her property.
Huge Underground Bee Colony Found Hidden at New York Cemetery
Researchers in Ithaca’s East Lawn Cemetery estimate a 100-year-old colony of about 5.5 million Andrena regularis bees nesting underground across 1.5 acres, potentially one of the world’s largest bee aggregations. Using emergence traps, they documented 3,251 insects across 16 species, with the population likely ranging 3–8 million. The colony’s longevity and size are tied to the cemetery’s undisturbed sandy soil and limited pesticide use, highlighting cemeteries as biodiversity refuges and the bees’ role in pollinating crops like apples.
Why some people are mosquito magnets, and what science now explains
A new review compiles years of work showing mosquitoes locate humans via chemical cues: CO2 in breath guides them from afar, then skin-emitted compounds like carboxylic acids (and related molecules such as 1-octen-3-ol) attract them up close; the skin microbiome and certain pathogens can tilt the balance toward more bites, informing potential repellents and skin-microbiome approaches to reduce transmission risk.
Dog-sized Middle Jurassic dinosaur hints at earlier herbivore diversification in Scotland
A 166-million-year-old, dog-sized, plant-eating dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic was unearthed on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Although the skeleton was long spotted, difficult access and protected coastline kept it from extraction until now. The fragmentary remains suggest an early ornithischian (possibly an early ornithopod or ceratodan) and show it was at least eight years old when it died, based on growth rings. This could push back the appearance of iguanodontians and shed light on small herbivores in Jurassic ecosystems; researchers aim to find more fossils in the Kilmaluag Formation to better understand dinosaur evolution in this period.
Dolphins’ sponge tools reveal culture-driven hunting in Shark Bay
Rare footage from Shark Bay shows bottlenose dolphins using sea sponges as protective tools on their snouts to hunt along the seafloor. The behavior alters echolocation and is transmitted from mothers to offspring; only about 5% of the population uses it, and calves typically learn it over 3–4 years. Sponge shape changes the acoustic beam, affecting hunting efficiency, with cone-shaped sponges guiding clicks more narrowly than basket-like sponges. The study, led by Ellen Rose Jacobs of Aarhus University and the Shark Bay Dolphin Research Project, highlights cultural transmission and the costs of tool use in a changing ocean, and was published in Royal Society Open Science.
Oldest Humboldt Penguin Turns 38, Celebrated with Fish Ice Cake
Spneb, a 38-year-old Humboldt penguin at Paradise Park in Cornwall, is believed to be the world’s oldest, celebrated with an ice cake topped with sardines and sprats as visitors watched, while her 21-year-old mate Prince looked on.
Senior Golden Retriever Turns Vet Wait Into a Solo Walkabout
At a veterinary visit, Tequila, a senior Golden Retriever, turns the waiting room into a self-guided stroll—carrying her leash, sniffing shelves, and confidently wandering past staff—winning smiles from thousands online.