The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday that Alexander Archipelago wolves in Southeast Alaska may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act and started a year-long status review. The decision comes in response to a July 2020 petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, Alaska Rainforest Defenders, and Defenders of Wildlife. The conclusion to consider

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'We need to stop treating the climate emergency as a stand-alone issue—global heating is not the sole symptom of our stressed Earth system.'

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tiny plastic

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Leicestershire's John Chadwick has been amazed to find his simple birdbox videos have already had 41 million hits on YouTube.

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The importance of animals' experiences and associated comfort during Human-Animal Interactions (HAI), and particularly Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI), are increasingly recognised. However, there remains a paucity of published research, particularly concerning less formal but frequent HAIs to which companion animals are typically exposed, such as stroking or petting. Additionally, few practical evidence-based guides to facilitate humans' optimal animal handling and interaction in these contexts exist. A simple set of Human-Cat Interaction (HCI) guidelines were therefore created, with the aim to enhance domestic cats' comfort during generic HCI contexts. Based around a “CAT” acronym, guidelines focused on providing the cat with choice and control (“C”), paying attention (“A”) to the cats' behaviour and body language and limiting touch (“T”), primarily to their temporal regions. Guidelines were presented to human participants during a brief training intervention, and guideline efficacy was subsequently assessed. Domestic cats available for rehoming at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, UK (n = 100) were filmed during interactions with novel members of the public (n = 120). Cats were exposed to a maximum of six, 5-min interaction sessions, balanced across “control” (interactions with humans pre-training) and “intervention” conditions (interactions with humans post-training). For each observation, cat behaviour and posture were coded and humans' cat-directed behaviour rated on ...

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This summer, climate change hits closer to home more than ever. In the gushing torrents in Germany and China, in the billowing smoke hanging over North America, in the unpredictable course of the 'fireworks,' nature is taking a toll. With more data trickling in and search efforts underway, the human toll remains unaccounted for. 

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Non-compliers more likely to leave home to meet friends, for religious reasons, boredom, or because they want to exercise right to freedom

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Whatcom County has been a fossil fuel hub for years, but its council just banned new fossil fuel activity. It could be a game-changer.

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The giant vampire bat's jaw was recently discovered in Pleistocene-era sediments in an Argentinian cave near the Buenos Aires suburb of Miramar. With the discovered jawbone It might help fill in some of the vast gaps in the history of these remarkable species, as well as give some insight into how and why these bats finally went out.

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Workers in open plan offices who face the room, are next to a window and have few or no desks behind them are more productive, according to a new study by UCL researchers.

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Credit: CC0 public domain How can students predict suicide risk, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on the mental health of many? Self-esteem is an important predictor of suicide risk, according to researchers in Montreal and France. A team from McGill University, the University of Montreal, Insert, and Université de Bordeaux …

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QBI researchers are refuting claims that COVID-19 can enter a person’s DNA.

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Inuit reports of polar bears using tools to kill walruses were historically dismissed as stories, but new research suggests the behavior does occur.

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The couple had their names removed from the shipment, and placed an order for the animals’ feet to be turned into “stools,” an “umbrella stand,” and a “trash can.”

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For the first time, astronomers have caught a glimpse of light being reflected from behind a supermassive black hole, 800 million light years away from Earth.

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Earth’s 'energy imbalance' is growing, and there is less than 1% probability that this trend can be explained by natural variations in the climate system, report a team of researchers from Princeton University and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

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Feline genomes are surprisingly similar to humans’, and could help us treat disease in both species.

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