(Natural News) Orcas (Orcinus orca) are known for being some of the fiercest predators in the ocean. But unusual video footage taken off the coast of Western Australia showed a pod of orcas freeing a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from a rope tangled in its tail. But did the orcas really try to rescue the whale? Fierce killer […]

(Natural News) Elephants have a “unique” relationship with their dead, and a study done by experts at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research examined this in detail. The researchers monitored the way in which the animals interacted with carcasses and found that in all cases, the elephants would touch and examine the remains. […]

(Natural News) Humans and primates might have a new challenger to their supposedly unique knack for subtle communications using facial expressions. A new U.K. study showed that sun bears were also able to copy the expressions made by other members of the same species. The smallest species of bear in the world, sun bears are also […]

(Natural News) The bottom of the ocean serves as home sweet home to bug-like crustaceans called giant isopods. Able to grow to the size of a football, these pink-colored critters chew through the tough skin and bones of dead animals that reach the seafloor. Mere hours after the carcass of an alligator or similarly sized […]

(Natural News) Humans often keep dogs as pets to protect their homes and family from intruders. Likewise, a South American species of burrowing tarantula keeps a tiny frog to protect its eggs and young spawn from small insects. In turn, the spider protects the frog from predators. Photographs taken by Italian researcher Emanuele Biggi featured an individual […]

(Natural News) Humans aren’t the only ones who mourn for their departed loved ones. A recent study showed that eastern gorillas also held funerals for their dead, even if the late animal wasn’t directly related to their band. These grim routines included healthy animals touching and licking the corpse. Experts worried that Ebola and other […]

(Natural News) Around the world, parasitoid wasps use spiders as the host for their babies. Researchers recently found that the wasps take advantage of the spiders’ hormone to force their victims into doing their bidding. A wasp starts the gruesome series of events by laying an egg on the body of a spider. Its larva feeds on […]

(Natural News) Humans enjoy moderately long lifespans. But some bats live even longer, which is surprising given their small size. Researchers believe that the secret behind the longevity of bats might help humans enjoy longer lives. Two researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) studied the evolutionary history of many known chiropteran species. They identified four bat species that live […]

(Natural News) Birds possess sharp hearing, all the better to catch their prey. A new study on alligators suggests that the crocodilians share the same ability. And both groups of animals might have shared the same keen sense of hearing with dinosaurs. Birds are often described as feathery dinosaurs. Crocodilians are also considered to be the closest […]

(Natural News) At least one species of monkey seems to understand that low-frequency sounds travel much further than high-pitched ones. Whenever a Geoffroy’s spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) gets separated from its group, the animal deliberately reduces the pitch of its calls. By lowering the frequency of its voice, the isolated monkey makes itself heard over […]