FLORA FAUNA - AFRICA DAILY

Palaeontologists investigate the macabre science behind how animals decay and fossilize

Apr 04, 2018 (SPX)

In a new study published in the journal Palaeontology, a group of palaeontologists from the UK and Ireland, led by the University of Leicester, has followed a m...

'We're sleepwalking into a mass extinction' say scientists

Apr 04, 2018 (SPX)

The researchers, from the University of York, the University of Bath and Oxford University Museum of Natural History have published a study in Communications Bi...

Japan's snow monkeys use hot baths to conserve body heat, relieve stress

Apr 03, 2018 (UPI)

Outside of humans, Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, are the northernmost primate species. With the help of a longer, thicker winter coat of fur, the snow monk...

Britain to ban ivory sales

Apr 03, 2018 (AFP)

The ban covers ivory items of all ages, with an unlimited fine or five years in jail the maximum penalty for breaching the ban. The decision, which must be appr...

Bacteria eats greenhouse gas with a side of protein

Apr 03, 2018 (SPX)

But before researchers can explore potential conservation applications, they first must better understand the bacteria's basic physiological processes. Northwes...

Mass extinction with prior warning

Mar 29, 2018 (SPX)

Mass extinctions are rare events that have catastrophic consequences. These events often completely change the course of evolution. For example, the rise of mam...

Take a walk on New York's wild side

Mar 27, 2018 (AFP)

But coexistence is not always easy between millions of wild animals and 8.5 million humans in a city better known for record-breaking skyscrapers, neon signs an...

Structure is decisive to algae

Mar 27, 2018 (SPX)

Most organisms which once lived on Earth have become extinct. Not only individual species, but entire families and broader groups of species have disappeared fo...

Spiders, scorpions use leg genes to grow their heads

Mar 27, 2018 (UPI)

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers Emily Setton and Prashant Sharma were searching for the evolutionary origins of spinnerets, the organs that allow sp...

Researchers investigate if Hurricane Harvey helped fire ants spread in Texas

Mar 26, 2018 (UPI)

Previous studies suggest invasive species take over and thrive in damaged ecosystems. Hurricane Harvey offered ecologists another chance to test the theory. "Hu...

A little creek has a big impact on local ecology

Mar 26, 2018 (SPX)

Just 4 miles west of UC Davis' main campus sits a sliver of wildness called Putah Creek Riparian Reserve. On a recent spring day, below a canopy of valley oaks ...

Quackery and superstition: species pay the cost

Mar 25, 2018 (AFP)

These are not the ingredients of a fairytale witches' brew, but some of the prized substances helping drive the multi-billion dollar illegal trade in animal par...

Indonesian 'house pet' orangutans rescued by activists

Mar 24, 2018 (AFP)

The tiny primate, covered in fuzzy auburn hair, is one of three Bornean orangutans saved in Indonesia over the past two weeks. Environmentalists and local offic...

After warnings of species plight: solutions in sight

Mar 24, 2018 (AFP)

Think carefully: your choice can help determine the future of the planet. After raising the alarm Friday about the fight for survival of many animal and plant s...

Olive ridley turtles hatch in Mumbai after two decades

Mar 23, 2018 (AFP)

Dozens of the threatened species cracked out of their egg shells and slowly waddled their way into the Arabian sea off Versova beach on Thursday, delighting wil...

Hong Kong shops defy ban on trade in pangolin scales

Mar 22, 2018 (AFP)

The reclusive pangolin, also known as the scaly anteater, has become the most trafficked mammal on earth due to soaring demand in China and Vietnam. While its s...

Biodiversity 101: Are Earth's wild megafauna doomed?

Mar 22, 2018 (AFP)

Count all the different kinds of big cats, bears, wolves, wild dogs and other carnivores weighing at least 15 kilos. Add large herbivores -- 100 kilos or more -...

Bird populations in rural France 'collapsing'

Mar 20, 2018 (AFP)

Dozens of species have seen their numbers decline, in some cases by two-thirds, the scientists detailed in a pair of studies, one national in scope and the othe...

Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, dies aged 45

Mar 20, 2018 (AFP)

When Sudan was born in 1973 in the wild in Shambe, South Sudan, there were about 700 of his kind left in existence. At his death, there are only two females rem...

Less-frequent lawn mowing may help suburban bees

Mar 19, 2018 (SPX)

The researchers found that taking a "lazy lawn mower" approach and mowing every two weeks rather than weekly can help encourage bee habitat in suburban lawns by...