Latest Zoology News
Not easy eating green: Herbivores most at extinction risk
Although scientists often worry most about the loss of the world’s predators, a comprehensive new study finds that plant-eating herbivores are the animals most at risk of extinction. About one in four species of herbivores, 25.5%, are considered threatened, endangered or vulnerable by the International...
Scientists study coronavirus outbreaks among minks in Europe
MADRID (AP) — Coronavirus outbreaks at mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands have scientists digging into how the animals got infected and if they can spread it to people. In the meantime, authorities have killed more than 1 million minks at breeding farms in both countries as a precaution. The virus...
First Asian giant hornet found in Washington state trap
BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — Washington state agriculture workers have have trapped their first Asian giant hornet. The hornet was found July 14 in a bottle trap set north of Seattle near the Canadian border, and state entomologists confirmed its identity Wednesday, according to the Washington State Department of...
Rare leopard frog found beyond its known range in Southwest
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A rare frog has been found beyond its known range in the Southwest. A U.S. Forest Service volunteer recently photographed a Chiricahua leopard frog in an earthen stock tank near the town of Camp Verde in central Arizona, the agency said Thursday. Biologists later confirmed that at...
Italian coast guard works to free sperm whale from fish net
ROME (AP) — Italian coast guard divers and biologists were working Sunday to free a sperm whale that was entangled in a fishing net near a tiny Mediterranean island. In a coast guard video, a diver can be seen slicing away some of the net in the waters surrounding the Aeolian Island archipelago. Boaters...
Ecuadorian hummingbirds chirp ultrasonic songs of seduction
WASHINGTON (AP) — Perched on a flowering shrub on a windy Andean mountainside, the tiny Ecuadorian Hillstar hummingbird chirps songs of seduction that only another bird of its kind can hear. As the male sings, he inflates his throat, causing iridescent throat feathers to glisten princely purple. The female...
Mosquitoes flying free as health departments focus on virus
Bug spray, swollen welts, citronella. It’s mosquito season. And in a normal year, the health department serving Ohio’s Delaware County would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week — black tubs of stagnant water with nets designed to ensnare the little buggers. But this year,...
Fly without flapping? Andean condors surf air 99% of time
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study sheds light on just how efficiently the world’s largest soaring bird rides air currents to stay aloft for hours without flapping its wings. The Andean condor has a wingspan stretching to 10 feet and weighs up to 33 pounds, making it the heaviest soaring bird alive...
Dengue prevention efforts stifled by coronavirus pandemic
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — To slow the spread of the coronavirus, governments issued lockdowns to keep people at home. They curtailed activities that affected services like trash collection. They tried to shield hospitals from a surge of patients. But the cascading effects of these restrictions also are...
US honeybees are doing better after bad year, survey shows
American honeybee colonies have bounced back after a bad year, the annual beekeeping survey finds. Beekeepers only lost 22.2% of their colonies this past winter, from Oct. 1 to March 31, which is lower than the average of 28.6%, according to the Bee Informed Partnership’s annual survey of thousands of...
LOADING MORE STORIES
