Animals

I can't help but think of the thrill these photographers must feel when they snap these once-in-a-lifetime moments that are good for a giggle or three. I'm talking, of course, about the winners of the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards for 2024.

Scientists have charted how dinosaurs rose to prominence using a pretty unconventional method. They studied, in dirty detail, hundreds of samples of fossilized poop and vomit.

Whether you're an avid birder or a casual watcher of feathered friends in the garden, this high-tech, AI-assisted station is a next-level backyard playground for locals. However, you might end up with a whole lot of new visitors once word gets out.

Pythons have famously cartoonish eating habits, and they might be even better at it than we thought. A new study has found that Burmese pythons can eat even larger prey than was thought mathematically possible.

Scientists in Japan have created hybrid plant-animal cells, essentially making animal cells that can gain energy from sunlight like plants. The breakthrough could have major benefits for growing organs and tissues for transplant, or lab-grown meat.

You might not hear it, but rodents are known to speak to each other in voices so high-pitched that human ears can’t pick them up. Now scientists have found that these vocalizations might have a second purpose – they help them smell better.

For the 60th year in a row, the Natural History Museum of London has held its Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. And for the 60th year in a row, the images are guaranteed to stir your love of the natural world and the animals that live in it.

Imagine being horribly maimed and the only way to survive was to merge your damaged flesh with another injured human. Scientists have discovered this startling ability in comb jellies, which can fuse together to share a nervous and digestive system.

At a time when we could do with a laugh, we present a pick of images that have made the shortlist in the 2024 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. From clumsy birds to dramatic insects, these photos capture moments that happen often but we rarely get to see.

A humble little lizard has developed a clever escape route from predators – it blows a bubble over its nostrils and scuba dives to safety for 20 minutes or more. Now, a biologist has explored exactly how it works.

Despite what you might say when drunk, you’re not the best backflipper in the world. That honor belongs to a tiny little bug called a globular springtail, whose superfast backflips have now been caught on slow-motion camera for the first time.

The fossil of an extremely unlucky dugong has been uncovered. The old sea cow had a pretty bad day about 20 million years ago when it was eaten by both a crocodile and a shark.