National Geographic News - Animals & Nature

Tiger Trade Slashes Big Cats' Numbers

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:14:43 -0500

Only 350 wild tigers remain in Asia's Mekong River region, according to a new report from the conservation nonprofit WWF, which says the loss is being driven by trade in tiger parts. Video.

Fish "Engineers" Dig Up Homes for Marine Life

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:18:42 -0500

Grouper "landlords" that carve out their rocky homes in the seafloor inadvertently give other marine animals free housing, a new study says.

Flashier Great Tits Produce Stronger Sperm, Bird Study Shows

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:37:57 -0500

Male great tits with brighter breasts have stronger sperm, according to the first study to find a link between flashiness and sperm strength in animals.

Mammals "Rafted" to Madagascar, Climate Model Suggests

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:55:42 -0500

The ancestors of lemurs, fossa, and other Madagascar mammals got to the island aboard natural rafts, according to a new model of the ocean currents and prevailing winds that existed 50 million years ago.

PICTURE: See-Through Goldfish Bred; Cuts Out Dissection

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:45:58 -0500

High school students wary of dissection may be in the clear, thanks to a newly bred see-through goldfish.

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Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:45:58 -0500

World's Longest Migration Found--2X Longer Than Thought

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:26:16 -0500

Flying pole to pole, and back, each year, tiny terns are the world's migration champs, a new study confirms—but only because their routes are completely convoluted.

Male Fish Punish Unruly Females -- And Benefit, Study Says

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 18:17:08 -0500

Bad fish! Male cleaner fish penalize out-of-line females, according to the first study to show that third-party punishers prosper.

Giant Salamanders Helped to Spawn

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 18:00:28 -0500

A new program in Japan is helping giant salamanders get past dams built to control flooding so the rare amphibians can lay their eggs upstream.

Rare Gorillas Spied Feasting on Figs

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 17:00:06 -0500

See what could be the first professional footage of elusive Cross River gorillas, the most endangered subspecies of gorilla, filmed recently in Cameroon. Video.

Elusive Tree Kangaroos Fitted With Video Cameras

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 15:15:54 -0500

These hard-to-reach "plush toys" on Papua New Guinea have been outfitted with "Crittercams" for the first time. The breathtaking treetop footage is already solving tree kangaroo mysteries, researchers say.

Shark Fins Traced to Home Waters Using DNA—A First

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 13:12:25 -0500

Many of the hammerhead sharks butchered to feed Asian demand for shark-fin soup come from endangered populations in American waters, a new forensic study shows.

"Pregnant" Fish Fathers Suck the Life From Their Young

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 12:26:22 -0500

With the fathers taking on the responsibility of "gestating" their young, the story of pipefish reproduction is among the more heartwarming in biology. Well, it was.

Czech Zoo Sends Four Rare White Rhinos to Kenya

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 12:02:00 -0500

Four of the world's eight remaining northern white rhinoceroses have been flown to Kenya in a last-ditch effort to save the critically endangered subspecies.

Abstaining Boobies Get "Sexier"

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:53:31 -0500

Male blue-footed boobies that take a yearlong sex sabbatical get a brighter shade of blue in their feet the following year, which makes them more attractive to females, a new study says. Video.

Primate Dialects Recorded in South America—A First

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:51:02 -0500