Animal science

From fleas to mosquitoes, there's no shortage of organisms we consider pests. But thanks to new genetic detective work, scientists have named and shamed the resilient, highly adaptive – and frustratingly hard to kill – bug that got to us first.

Drawing parallels with other species, not naming names, the voices of female frogs are being drowned out by their much louder and boisterous male counterparts – so much so we don't know how nearly 99% of the ladies even sound.

An elusive nocturnal beast of a rat that lives high up a mountain has been filmed and caught for the first time, in what is akin to winning the zoology lottery. It's only been seen once in 30 years, and all we know of it stem from old museum specimens.

Why do elephants, one of the biggest animals on the planet, paradoxically experience unusually low rates of cancer? The question has led scientists to discover these remarkable mammals carry unique genetic variants that reduce their risk of tumors.

A new study with 20-years of field data has discovered that the African superb starling forms mixed-kin groups with up to 60 members. These findings offer some of the first direct evidence of human-like friendship behavior in animals.

Life-sized papier-mâché birds are popping up in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and they're quite a sight. By this we mean a sight you wouldn't want to see on a night hike. But there's more to these greater sage-grouse models than meets the eye.

A curious little snail that you've probably never seen before has a unique quirk: it lays eggs through an opening in its neck. You've got to see it to believe it, and thankfully, there's video.

Zombies are real – not in the walking dead sense, but parasites that can force creatures to do things against their will. The launch of The Last of Us season 2 feels like a great time to explore some of the real-world zombie stories that inspired it.

Like a plot mashup of Jurassic Park meets Game of Thrones, John Hammond meets Jon Snow, scientists at Colossal Biosciences claims to have pulled off the world's first de-extinction event. It's brought back the dire wolf.

Built to be carnivorous, giant pandas spend up to 16 hours a day on their backsides eating bamboo. But contrary to all the panda jokes, it's not because they're lazy or too dumb to know better. It's far more fascinating – and it may help humans, too.

Scientists have created the first kangaroo embryo by in-vitro fertilization, which is a landmark moment for pouch-toting marsupials. Years in the making, it's a massive step in future-proofing hundreds of species facing imminent extinction.

A 13-year study of tiny penguins in Australia has dispelled the long-held myth that these seabirds mate for life, with the 'divorce rate' nearly 10 times that of the current statistics for US adults. And, not surprisingly, it all comes down to kids.