Latest Zoology News
Respected snake researcher dies from rattlesnake bite
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A respected snake researcher who had been making significant discoveries about the species since childhood has died after being bitten by a timber rattler. William H. “Marty” Martin died Aug. 3 after being bitten the day before by a captive snake on the...
Do videos show ivory-billed woodpecker, or is it extinct?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal government has been asked to consider at least two videos made in recent years as evidence that ivory-billed woodpeckers may still exist. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in 2021 that it planned to declare 23 species extinct, including North...
Scientists use tiny trackers, plane to follow moths on move
NEW YORK (AP) — Trillions of insects migrate across the globe each year, yet little is known about their journeys. So to look for clues, scientists in Germany took to the skies, placing tiny trackers on the backs of giant moths and following them by plane. To the researchers’...
Do spiders sleep? Study suggests they may snooze like humans
NEW YORK (AP) — It's a question that keeps some scientists awake at night: Do spiders sleep? Daniela Roessler and her colleagues trained cameras on baby jumping spiders at night to find out. The footage showed patterns that looked a lot like sleep cycles: The spiders' legs twitched...
As species recover, some threaten others in more dire shape
GLEN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — In a forest near Lake Michigan, two scientists attached a backpack tracking device to a merlin they'd lured into a net. The mission: help prevent the predatory species from gobbling up piping plovers — highly endangered shorebirds that nest nearby. ...
Climate change and vanishing islands threaten brown pelicans
CHAUVIN, La. (AP) — Sliding off the side of her small boat, seabird biologist Bonnie Slaton wades through waist-high water, brown pelicans soaring overhead, until she reaches the shores of Raccoon Island. During seabird breeding season, the place is a raucous symphony of noise and...
New studies bolster theory coronavirus emerged from the wild
Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold – further bolstering the theory that the virus emerged in the wild rather than escaping from a Chinese lab. The research, published online Tuesday by...
Murder hornets given new common name by entomologists
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The invasive hornet found in Washington state that has been referred to as the Asian giant hornet or murder hornet has a new name. Washington state Department of Agriculture officials said Monday that the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has adopted...
Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered
WASHINGTON (AP) — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers. “It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke...
Editorial Roundup: New England
Rutland Herald. July 9, 2022. Editorial: Regressive decision In our email this week came a note from State Auditor Doug Hoffer. The headline stated, “Vermont Supreme Court Deals Serious Blow to Government Transparency and Accountability.” We could...
