Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: mammals

mammals stories: 10 news summaries
happy ending

Footloose
Llama Safe
After Odyssey
in Rockies

'Homer' spent about
a month on the lam

Oct 4, 09 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - A llama who went on the lam in the Rocky Mountains is safe and sound after a month on his own. Christened "Homer" by a volunteer rescuer "because of his little odyssey," the 6-month-old has frostbitten ears but is otherwise in decent shape. Theories about the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mammals • Rocky Mountains • Colorado • llama • Pikes Peak

birthday slideshow

 Tai Shan Turns 4  


Jul 9, 09 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tai Shan, the giant panda who captivated the world as a cub, turned 4 today and celebrated with a huge birthday cake only an animal could love. The three-tiered concoction was a frozen medley of water, beet juice, shredded beets, and bamboo, WTOP reports. Tai Shan, who is now considered... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Washington DC • birthday • mammals • panda • vegetarianism • birthday party • National Zoo • pandas • panda diplomacy • giant pandas • Tai Shan • Tian Tian • Mei Xiang

 Mammals Evolve Faster 
 in Hot Weather: Study 

Faster metabolism thought to be why

Jun 24, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Evolution happens faster in warmer climates, a new study finds. Researchers found that DNA changes more frequently among mammals in the species-rich tropics than among comparable species elsewhere, the BBC reports. Scientists believe the germ cells that become sperm and eggs divide more often in hotter weather, perhaps because those... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weather • evolution • DNA • mammals • scientific study


 BBC Film 
 Crew Captures 
 'Arctic Unicorns' 

Elusive narwhals tracked on icy migration

Feb 10, 09 11:08 AM CST
(Newser) - A BBC crew has captured on film a hauntingly majestic pod of narwhals, their unicorn-like tusks slicing through Arctic waters. It's believed to be the first such film of the mysterious, elusive mammals, reports the BBC. The aerial team spotted the animals last summer as they negotiated their way through... More »

MORE ABOUT:
global warming • migration • Arctic • mammals • Arctic Sea • narwhal

Long-Living Whales Shed Light on Menopause

Females see offspring through to maturity

Feb 3, 09 4:14 PM CST
(Newser) - Stumped scientists finally have a clue about the evolutionary purpose of post-menopausal women. Female killer whales—who outlive males by decades—stick around to nurture their kin through maturity, the Los Angeles Times reports. Similarly, human mamas may stick around to ensure their kids really, truly, don't need them anymore.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • reproduction • women • menopause • mammals • killer whale

 One-Quarter of 
 Mammal Species 
 Imperiled: Survey 

Deforestation, climate change among culprits threatening 1,141 types of beasts

Oct 6, 08 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nearly 25% of the world’s mammal species face extinction, the Guardian reports, and 3% are critically endangered. The stark conclusion, based on research conducted over 5 years in 130 countries, paints an especially bleak picture for marine mammals, the highly regarded Red List says. "We are threatening the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • extinction • mammals • South Asia • river dolphin • white dolphin • threatened species • marine mammals • environmental damage • Southeast Asia

Bucki the Whale Escapes Baltic for Open Ocean

The humpback strayed into the small sea in July

Sep 9, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bucki's going home, a little thinner but seemingly none the worse for wear. The humpback whale, which strayed into the Baltic Sea in July, has finally made his way back into the Atlantic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. The whale is only the third in modern history spotted in German... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Greenpeace • Germany • Atlantic Ocean • humpback whale • ocean • mammals • Baltic Sea

Here's Why Platypus Look So Goofy

Scientist decode
its DNA, see part mammal, part reptile

May 7, 08 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have decoded the genome of the duck-billed platypus, National Geographic reports, with their findings as interesting as they expected. Research, published in Nature, confirms that the platypus is the earliest living offshoot of mammalian evolution, yet retains many genetic throwbacks to reptilian ancestors thought to have lived 300 million... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • mammals • genome • reptiles • platypus

New Moms Use Natural Remedy for Depression

Placenta thought to help regulate volatile hormones

Jul 22, 07 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - People think it's weird, and there's no research to prove it works, but new mothers  who've suffered from postpartum depression swear by it. The placenta that nourished the baby is injested by the new mom—dried and put into gelatin capsules, or just plain cooked and eaten. The placenta is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • mothers • organs • mammals • birth • placenta • fetus • gelatin capsules • placentophagy • childbirth • nutrients

Iraqis Go on Alert as Mammoth Badgers Stalk City

Locals blame British troops for badger invasion

Jul 13, 07 7:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Badgers have invaded Basra, Iraq, spurring fears of a man-eating monster on the loose in the port city. Despite Iraqi scientists' assurances that the creatures are not dangerous to humans, locals demonize the oversized carnivores and blame British troops for for unleashing them. The badgers "don't stalk humans and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Basra • British • badgers • mammals • British troops • port • Iraq war • animal

10 Stories


from our news partners