Dinosaurs grew feathers differently from birds, fossil of a 'dancing dragon' shows
An exquisite fossil of a fierce little Chinese dinosaur dubbed the "dancing dragon" that lived 120 million years ago — an older cousin of the Velociraptor — is showing scientists that feathers grew differently on dinosaurs than on birds. The two-legged Cretaceous Period dinosaur, called ...
Wolf puppies found to play fetch — did that help their descendants become dogs?
In the game of fetch, you throw an object and your joyful dogs leaps to intercept and return it, encouraged by words of praise or a pat on the head. Such scenes have no doubt played out over millenniums, symbolizing the unshakable bond of friendship ...
Species-saving Galapagos giant tortoise Diego to be freed on native isle after 80 years abroad
Job done, the prolific Galapagos giant tortoise Diego is being released back into the wild after being credited by authorities with almost single-handedly saving his species from extinction. The 100-year-old tortoise, who was recruited along with 14 other adults for a captive breeding program, will ...
Parrots found to volunteer help selflessly, rare among animals
Acting selflessly to help others in need was long thought to be a trait confined to mammals, in particular humans and great apes. But a new study has found that African gray parrots volunteer assistance to both their good friends and mere acquaintances — even ...
240,000 Australians urged to evacuate as fires devastate area the size of South Korea
Australian authorities urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday as soaring temperatures and erratic winds were expected to fan deadly bushfires across the east coast. Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands have been made homeless as the ...
Australians told to evacuate as hot weather fans fires that have left 26 people dead
Australian authorities issued new warnings and evacuation notices across the country's heavily populated southeast on Thursday as a return of hot weather fanned huge bush fires threatening several towns and communities. A disaster notice in Victoria state, already in place for the past week, was ...
The Okinawa Prefectural Government plans to cull more than 1,800 pigs at the farm in the city of Uruma and another farm where infection is suspected.
Wildfires threaten unique critters on Australian 'Galapagos'
It has been described as Australia's Galapagos Islands and has long been a refuge for some of the country's most endangered creatures. But devastating wildfires over recent days have undone decades of careful conservation work on Kangaroo Island and have threatened to wipe out ...
Wildfires threaten unique critters on Kangaroo Island, Australia's 'Galapagos Islands'
It has been described as "Australia's Galapagos Islands" and has long been a refuge for some of the country's most endangered creatures. But devastating wildfires over recent days have undone decades of careful conservation work on Kangaroo Island, located off the coast of South ...
Seven whales were successfully herded back to sea after they survived a mass stranding at a New Zealand beach on Saturday, conservation officials said. About 1,000 locals and vacationers had spent several hours comforting the beached whales on the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island. They ...
No eyes, no problem: Marine creature expands boundaries of vision
A cousin of the starfish that resides in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico lacks eyes, but can still see, according to scientists who studied this creature that expands the boundaries of the sense of sight in the animal kingdom. Researchers ...
Dwarf Tyrannosaurus rex species probably did not exist, study says
For three decades, paleontologists have been split over a provocative question: Did a dwarf species of Tyrannosaurus rex once exist? In 1988, paleontologist Robert Bakker and his colleagues at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History reclassified a specimen that had been discovered in 1942 and ...
