Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Animals”
You may have heard rumors that 2024 will be a big year for the cicada. News outlets and magazines are putting out panicked headlines about an “insect apocalypse”. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about in 2024! In this Biologist Ruins Everything post, let’s get to the bottom of these claims and learn about the cicadas in question. …
Large mammals are some of the most exciting wildlife to watch in nature. Not only are they often somewhat shy and elusive, but they often display some fantastic adaptations. Whether you’re out for a stroll a neighborhood park in England, or India or on safari in the tropics, big furry beasts are super exciting. Among the most impressive characteristics of …
Freshwater environments like rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands are filled with fascinating nature. Teeming with life, they are great natural settings for outdoor activities and among the best for doing sit-spots. If you pause by a body of water in late Summer or Fall, you may be treated to the antics of our latest Wildlife Spotlight: whirligig beetles. Beetles are …
When you hear the word pollinator, often the first image that comes to mind is a bee. With good reason, too: bees are common pollinators in many natural habitats and are easy to recognize. However, they don’t deserve all the credit. There are plenty of other neat animals out there putting in the work and getting far less attention for …
I have a tendency to a be a bit of a busybody. While my preferred comparison for all that running around has always been the ever-mobile wolverine (the namesake for Gulo in Nature!) another animal is a frequent comparison. People often use sharks as an example of an animal that always has to keep moving. Supposedly, if a shark stops …
Pictures of a “baby crow” have been all over Pinterest and Reddit for a couple of years now, winning hearts with their poofy goth aesthetic. Notably not a single nature account is involved in all the sharing. Meanwhile, some experts have specifically highlighted that something’s wrong here. You guessed it: this isn’t what a baby crows look like at all. …
In many previous posts, I’ve mentioned animals that molt. Birds do it, insects and arachnids do it, not to mention many marine animals. Heck, even people do it! But what exactly is molting (or as the British spell it, moulting)? What does it mean for an animal to molt? By now, I have received those questions in one form or …
On a recent hike in South Georgia, I watched a gorgeous brown butterfly take off from a tree, fly along in front of me, and then disappear. I looked, then looked again, and couldn’t find where it had gone. It looked as though it had evaporated as it passed by a nearby oak. I crept close to investigate, and eventually …
