Excerpted from PENELOPE by Paul Bochner. Copyright © 2026 by Paul Bochner. Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. 

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On the evening of March 18, as it was growing dark, I went to the window, not knowing what was drawing me. Next to the house stood a shadow, ghost-like, shrunken, at one with the dusk, almost translucent, and I recognized The Girl with the Broken Foot.

I walked out into the falling wet snow, slowly approaching her, and she allowed me to come close. Nine months old, she was the size of a fawn half that age. Starkly emaciated, her body seemed to be collapsing inward, her head held low. Literal hunger and a deeper starvation were palpable. She bore the haunted look of terminal solitude seen in souls driven to the margins of society, among the liv-ing, yet apart. She seemed so frail that I couldn’t imagine she would live more than another day or two.

Going inside and returning with a bowl of apples, I cut them into pieces and placed a few on the ground between us. She was raven-ously hungry and I gave her a few more apples, and still more, until she had eaten a total of eight. After she had finished eating, she stayed with me. We stood about a foot apart. She showed no fear of me, a fact which I would later come to recognize as meaningful. The moment had the compelling quality which has been present at the onset of many enduring connections in my life, of being un-bound by linear time.

“I am watching over you,” I said softly. “If you come here, I will take care of you. You are not alone.”

It was fully dark when we parted, having been together for an hour. I expected that she would recede into the woods, yet the next morning she was sleeping against the house, directly beneath the window closest to where I sit all day to work. Save for the wall separating us, she could not have gotten any closer to me.

When I went around to the front of the house, she struggled to her feet and approached. In the morning light, I was better able to assess the state of her health. Months of solitary survival had taken a severe toll. Her body seemed hollowed, her ribs and pelvis sharply visible beneath her skin, and it felt a miracle that she was alive. On her right flank was a hemispherical mass the size of a cantaloupe, which I took to be a tumor, yet it had an open, running wound at its center, which she periodically craned her neck to lick. Her eyes were running and had congealed masses at their inner corners.

I bent to get a look at her injured foot. From not being walked on, the backward-facing cloven hoof had grown to an abnormal length and was curling upward. The wrist, which unnaturally bore her weight, had a flattened forward surface, an oval about two inches across, worn raw, without hair or skin, only pale pink–grey flesh, which, at its center, appeared to have been further abraded to the bone. Her right front foot, forced to compensate, was splayed and rockered, her right scapula protruded, and her front quarters were substantially lower than her hips.

I again placed apple pieces on the ground between us. I spoke very gently to her, saying, “You are the best one of all the deer. You are the most beautiful. You are good.” I continued to talk to her while she ate her apples, and when she had taken all she could, she returned to her resting spot under the window. I went inside to work, keeping periodic watch, pleased that she seemed to have claimed a place. But in a few minutes, from around the corner of the house came the twins, followed by their mother who immediately and ag-gressively charged at her. The Girl with the Broken Foot lurched upright and hobbled down the embankment, across the road and into the woods.

She was once again alone, but a step had been taken. Since the previous evening, things had changed. Even before her second feed-ing she had recognized me on sight. She had approached and had again allowed me near.

Although I had seen her fewer than half a dozen times in the preceding months, from the night of our first connection, she began to come to the house every day. She slowly gained strength and I would watch for her and thrill to the sight of her slow approach. It was our private time. We stood together, and I placed her food on the ground between us. After she ate, she would stare into my eyes for long periods, seemingly entranced. I told her stories. I sang softly to her. I told her she was my beauty.

So began our journey, and one of the greatest loves I have ever known.

About the Author

Paul Bochner began his professional life early, as a working musician through his mid-teens in Los Angeles, then moving to Montreal at the invitation of the National Film Board of Canada. He has won several international awards for his films and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in painting. He has written for The New Yorker and The Atlantic.

The post The remarkable bond between a man and a deer appeared first on Popular Science.

When zoology professor Daniel Baldassarre traveled to the remote Galápagos Islands of Wolf and Darwin with two other researchers, getting there proved quite a challenge. With no beaches to land a boat on, they had to approach the islands’ cliffs in a small dinghy and wait for a lull in the waves before jumping onto sharp, black lava rocks.

But their efforts paid off. On that trip, they saw a bird that very few people have ever set eyes on in the wild: the vampire ground finch. These finches are only found on Wolf and Darwin, and feed on the blood of much larger birds called Nazca boobies that also live on the islands. 

Up close, Baldassarre and his colleagues noted the vampire finches’ blood-stained bills and their throats visibly engorged with blood. They also saw them in action. 

“We observed scores of vampire finches clamouring all over the backs, tails, and wings of boobies, opening up substantial wounds with their sharp beaks, and drinking their fill of blood,” they wrote in an article for The Conversation. 

Why only some birds drink blood

“Blood is a notoriously difficult food source to process and extract nutrients from, which probably partly explains why so few animals have evolved to feed on it,” Baldassarre tells Popular Science. He suspects that on these islands where freshwater is extremely rare, blood might serve as a water source for the finches. 

It’s not the only component of the vampire finches’ diet, however. Based on unpublished data collected by Baldassarre and his colleagues, blood makes up about one-tenth of the vampire finches’ diet. 

“These finches are quite opportunistic, so they will eat just about anything they can find,” Baldassarre says. “We observed them feeding on everything from seeds to insects to broken seabird eggs.”

One theory is that vampire finches rely more on blood feeding in periods of extreme drought, when other resources are scarce. But more research is needed to see if this idea holds up in practice.

How this strange behavior evolved

Vampire finches weren’t always vampires, scientists think. The relationship between vampire finches and boobies probably started off with the finches eating parasites found on the skin and feathers of the boobies. This would have been mutually beneficial because it provided a cleaning service for the boobies and food for the finches.

But at some point in evolutionary history, in the process of picking off parasites, the finches started to create lesions on the boobies’ skin, and eventually began feeding on their blood.

Over time, their bills became more scalpel-like, perfect for making skin incisions. Their digestive system also changed. When Baldassarre and his colleagues studied the microbes found in vampire finches’ guts, they found that their gut microbiome was very different from that of other, non-blood-consuming finches on the Galápagos Islands, something they attribute to their unique diet. 

Until recently, vampire finches were considered a subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis). 

“But they have now been designated as their own species [Geospiza septentrionalis] because of the differences they have evolved because of blood feeding,” Baldassarre notes. 

How the boobies cope 

Baldassarre and his colleagues have seen vampire finches gang up on and kill nestling boobies,“but that was quite rare,” he points out. 

“In most cases, the finches seem to inflict just enough damage to break the skin and extract some blood, but not too much to harm the boobies significantly.” This is similar to many parasite-host relationships, such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes on mammals. “You can kind of think of the vampire finches as giant mosquitoes,” Baldassarre says.

As seen in a segment on vampire finches in David Attenborough’s documentary A Perfect Planet, the boobies seem to tolerate the vampire finches rather than chasing them away. There are likely a few reasons for this, Baldassarre says. 

“For one, as in large animals being bitten by mosquitoes, often the damage is minimal and not noticeable, so it doesn’t elicit a strong reaction. Also, the boobies sometimes have a vested interest in staying put and guarding their spot in the colony, or perhaps nest or nestlings, so may not want to fly away. Finally, the finches seem to target hard-to-reach areas on the boobies like the base of tail feathers, so it’s likely difficult for the boobies to deter them.”

I, for one, was feeling very sorry for the boobies being constantly hounded by these small vampire birds. Until I learnt that Nazca boobies practice something called “obligate siblicide,” which essentially means that the first-hatched chick routinely attacks and kills its younger sibling. It’s a harsh, bird-eat-bird world in the Galápagos Islands. 

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

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Some animal rescues are more complicated than others—especially when the creature in peril is about to become a snack for a seagull on a remote Alaskan beach with polar bears lurking nearby. 

That was the sticky situation an orphaned Pacific walrus (a subspecies of Odobenus rosmarus) calf was in when two researchers found it on an island in the region of Point Lay, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research walrus biologist Tony Fischbach and Ilisaġvik College student and Point Lay local Violet Anniskett stumbled upon the young male while investigating walrus carcasses on a remote beach. They found the orphan between the remains of two adult walruses, which was a first in Fischbach’s long experience working with walrus herds there. 

The researchers requested permission to rehabilitate the walrus from the local Inupiaq community and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once the approval arrived, the next hurdle was getting the mammal to the Alaska SeaLife Center. The center is the only marine mammal rehabilitation facility in Alaska, and was over 800 miles away. As if things could get any more difficult, stormy weather left Anniskett, Fischbach, and the walrus stuck on the island for days. In the meantime, the researchers guided the calf to an abandoned building to shelter from predators.

“When we found him, a determined flock of gulls was intent on scavenging him. He was in immediate peril of suffering this fate had we not gotten approval to intervene. Two polar bears were also active on the island,” Fischbach said in a statement. 

“He bonded with us fast and wouldn’t sleep unless one of us were in the room. It was just us two for three days, stuck in a storm with the young walrus,” Anniskett added. 

The calf was finally transported to the local airport, and made it to Alaska SeaLife Center on September 14 after a flight and van ride. The 200 pound baby arrived dehydrated, but in good physical condition. They treated some superficial wounds, gave him fluids, and applied other stabilizing treatments. 

But the calf’s journey wasn’t over. In fact, orphaned Pacific walrus calves are one of the most specialized patients in marine mammal rehabilitation.That’s because in the wild, calves are very attached to their mothers, with whom they usually stay for one to two years. Close physical contact both with their mothers and others of their king is a crucial element in a calf’s early life. In the case of an orphaned calf, humans (who are authorized specialists) can act as surrogates, but it’s a tough babysitting job. Someone has to be around all the time to provide physical contact, social interaction, feeding support, and any veterinary care. 

“Caring for an orphaned walrus calf is truly a team effort and requires around the clock commitment,” said Jane Belovarac, an Alaska SeaLife Center wildlife response curator. “At least two staff members have been working shifts around the clock to stay with him and provide the care he needs. This means long days and some unusual sleeping schedules for our team.”

It also means that the calf becomes comfortable with humans and thus cannot return to the wild. Now in a new long term home (whose location hasn’t been announced yet), he will be an ambassador for his species by teaching people about Pacific walruses. 

The post Orphaned walrus calf rescued from nearby polar bears in Alaska appeared first on Popular Science.

It takes a village to raise a child, and sometimes it takes more than one wildlife rehabilitation center to care for a bat. Even if the bat in question weighs only six grams (about two ounces). 

The recent rescue of the juvenile bat in Lancaster, Pennsylvania involved teamwork from the beginning. The “sky puppy” had been hanging on a local porch for two days. While that might not sound off, the bat’s exposure to the elements in a single location for that period of time made the situation an emergency, according to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in southern Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation contacted Raven Ridge, who sent a team member to get the bat. The winged mammal was very dehydrated and underweight. It was also unlike the bats that typically arrive at Raven Ridge. The team stabilized her, recontacted PA Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation, and the two organizations realized that they had a northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) on their hands.  

“Sadly, northern long-eared bats are now critically endangered in North America, with their population dropping by as much as 97% to 100% because of white-nose syndrome,” Tracie Young, Raven Ridge Wildlife Center director, tells Popular Science. White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats in the U.S. and Canada. 

“They are now protected at both the state and federal levels,” Young adds.

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A Raven Ridge volunteer ultimately drove the youngster to the PA Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation facility about an hour away, where the team is expert in critically endangered bats. The bat was eventually returned to the wild, with a video featuring the little bat launching from a woman’s gloved hand into the night. 

“Even though this is just one bat, it was important to get this bat to the rehabber who specializes not only in bats but also in those in a critically endangered status,” Young adds. “The video shows her flying beautifully. This effort was a wonderful partnership between Raven Ridge Wildlife Center and PA Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation.”

Happy bat appreciation month!

The post Tiny, critically endangered bat rescued and released in Pennsylvania appeared first on Popular Science.

Nothing is quite as joyful as watching a dog get caught up in a bout of “zoomies,” zipping around a living room or backyard in a burst of energy. But our canine pals aren’t the only animals subject to these hyperactive displays. 

Young condors can also engage in zoomies, as demonstrated in a recent Facebook post from the Ventana Wildlife Society in California. The video shows clips of two young California condors (Gymnogyps californianus), Chert and Pumice, seemingly having a blast in their release pen. 

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“We observe the zoomies in both captive and wild condors. It’s just a sudden expression of pure excitement for young condors and very fun to watch,” Joe Burnett, California Condor Recovery Program Manager at the wildlife society, tells Popular Science. “Zoomies come out of nowhere and they just can’t contain themselves and totally let loose. They hop, run in circles, or flap around, or all the above! It’s just pure fun!”

It’s not just about the fun, however. Zoomies allow the young condors to release energy and grow stronger, as well as help them figure out their wings, according to the team. 

The two zoomie condors are 1.5-year-old males who were raised in zoos before arriving at Ventana Wildlife Society’s San Simeon release pen in early September. It’s called a release pen because Chert, Pumice, and three other captive condors will be kept in the pen to acclimate until their release on October 24 at 10 a.m. The release will also be livestreamed. 

The quintet will become a part of the wild condor population of central California, which today includes 104 individuals. But it won’t be a total goodbye. Scientists will be able to keep an eye on Pumice and Chert’s locations via wing-mounted radio & GPS transmitters and ID tags. 

California condors are North America’s largest land bird. They measure 9.5 feet from wing tip to wing tip. But their size didn’t spare them from a precipitous population drop. In 1982 there were only 23 condors left in the world. All wild condors were captured and included in a captive breeding program. 

“Condor releases are critical to achieving our ultimate goal- to reestablish a self-sustaining condor population in the wild,” Burnett concludes. 

At the end of 2025, there were 607 California condors. We’d say Pumice and Chert earned their right to party. 

The post Condors get the ‘zoomies’ too appeared first on Popular Science.

In the Huab River Valley of Namibia, a female elephant carries the body of a deceased calf. It’s a tragic scene that offers a rare glimpse at the complex social behaviors of animals. Photographer Federico Veronesi documented the moment and his striking image took top honors at 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.

“This photograph works on so many levels. Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant,” Kathy Moran, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, said. “Intellectually it’s proof that animals have cognition. This photograph says it all!”

Photographers from around the world submitted more than 65,000 photographs for consideration this year. Prizes were awarded across 20 categories, including honors for young photographers.

Winners across categories:

• 10 Years and Under: Amelie Davis (UK)
• 11 – 14 Years: Oscar Whitfield (UK/Zimbabwe)
• 15 – 17 Years: Konrad Gräeter (Germany)
• Animals in their Environment: James Lewin (UK)
• Animal Portraits: Aaron Sanders (UK)
• Behaviour: Birds – Isak Pretorius (South Africa)
• Behaviour: Mammals – Federico Veronesi (Italy)
• Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles – Anton Sorokin (USA)
• Behaviour: Invertebrates – Sitaram Raul (India)
• Oceans: The Bigger Picture – Alex Lindbloom (USA)
• Plants and Fungi: Agorastos Papatsanis (Greece)
• Natural Artistry: Michał Michalski (Poland)
• Underwater: Tony Wu (Japan/USA)
• Urban Wildlife: Seth Forestson (USA)
• Wetlands: The Bigger Picture – Alex Visbal (Colombia)
• Photojournalism: Francisco Negroni (Chile)
• Photojournalist Story Award: Loren Elliott (USA)
• Rising Star Award: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas (Germany)
• Portfolio Award: Kutub Uddin (Bangladesh/UK)
• Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Federico Veronesi (Italy)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The winning images will be on display at the museum until July 11, 2027.

The post Powerful image of a grieving elephant wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year appeared first on Popular Science.

Marine biologists are sounding the alarm on behalf of the Galápagos Islands’ marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). Without tightened regulations on the often abused exotic pet trade, researchers warn that a recent “strange uptick” in illegal animal trafficking combined with this season’s Super El Niño is further endangering the already vulnerable reptiles living on the Eastern Pacific archipelago.

“They are already shrinking in size and facing mass mortality, either by starvation or by trying to swim longer distances in search of food,” Juan José Alava, a marine ecotoxicologist at Canada’s Simon Fraser University, explained in a recent letter published in Science.

The marine iguana family encompasses at least 11 known subspecies, each specially evolved to live on the Galápagos Islands. They are the only reptiles in the world capable of foraging underwater for macroalgae, which makes up the majority of their diet. Although iguana colonies remain relatively stable, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still lists them as Vulnerable due to predators, mounting pollution issues, and cyclical El Niño events. Ten of the 11 recognized subspecies are also locally classified as either Critically Endangered or Endangered. Sale of iguanas is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), but a recent uptick in illegal trafficking along with increasingly dramatic climate shifts is adding more stress to the situation.

Ecuadorian authorities have caught people attempting to smuggle iguanas multiple times this year. In May, officials discovered at least a dozen animals inside handbags at an airport that were bound for illegal markets. Law enforcement found another 32 tied up inside a suitcase intended for similar buyers in August. Many trafficked iguanas won’t survive the stress and rough handling, but even rescued reptiles face challenges. Because subspecies are evolved to live on specific islands, ecologists must test each rescued iguana’s DNA to determine where to return them.

Smuggling hasn’t been seen within the Galápagos Marine Reserve itself, but Alava and his colleagues theorize that smugglers are capturing iguanas near Ecuador’s coastal shorelines. Traffickers then obtain CITES permits that falsely declare the reptiles are captive bred in other nations, even though no such authorized facilities actually exist. Often, smugglers are only engaged in the industry out of financial necessity or coercion.

“Artisinal fishing communities from Galapagos and coastal Ecuador, who are facing severe socioeconomic hardship and expanding organized crime activities, may feel pressured to participate in this international black market,” the letter’s authors wrote.

Conservationists are now urging a multifaceted approach to protect the animals. CITES representatives need to close existing permit loopholes, while the Ecuadorian government should focus on simultaneously breaking up organized crime and providing economic aid to struggling communities.

“Maintaining global ocean observing systems is essential, and extreme marine event forecasting and response capabilities are improving,” the authors wrote. “But responsibility and action remain fragmented across environmental [organizations], fisheries, and emergency management, and public health agencies.”

The post Super El Niño influencing ‘strange uptick’ in illegal Galápagos iguana trafficking appeared first on Popular Science.

The Ojai Raptor Center released the final necropsy results for Jackie, an internet-famous bald eagle mother who was in their care this summer. Jackie was brought into the bird rehabilitation center weak and dehydrated following an altercation with another eagle in July. 

Officially designated as Patient 26-519, Jackie’s necropsy revealed a “complex and unusual disease process involving severe, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the stomach, persistent internal bleeding, anemia and secondary bacterial sepsis.” She was also diagnosed with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) commonly called bird flu, which was behind severe stomach ulceration. Raptors (eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, etc.) are highly susceptible to the virus 

All of these medical complications developed over time and ultimately contributed to her death on August 10.

“These findings have helped connect many of the pieces we were seeing throughout her hospitalization and provided a better understanding of the challenges she faced,” the Ojai Raptor Center wrote. “We are grateful to the many veterinary specialists, laboratories, wildlife agencies and partner organizations who worked alongside our team to understand her illness and provide her with the best possible care. Caring for her was an extraordinary privilege for our entire team.”

The full report can be read in Jackie’s veterinary medical journal. The necropsy was preformed by veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the non-profit organization that runs the live cameras where viewers from all over the world watched Jackie and her partner Shadow, said that they will follow up with their thoughts once their team has had time to process the report.

“The story of the Big Bear bald eagle reflects the powerful connection people feel to these iconic birds,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel added. “We’re grateful to everyone who cared for her and worked to support her well-being.  Understanding the results of these tests is an important part of learning from this case and can help inform the care and treatment of other eagles and wildlife in the future.”

Jackie’s story

Jackie was born, raised, and lived in Big Bear Valley in Southern California. Prior to the 2011-2012 nesting season, no bald eagle chicks were known to have ever hatched in Big Bear Valley. Then came Jackie, named after a forest ranger and born to parents Ricky and Lucy in 2012. 

During the 2016-2017 nesting season, Jackie took over a nest where Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) had a camera stationed. In 2018, she had two chicks named Stormy and Big Bear Baby (or BBB) with her first mate, Mr. B. 

Her long-time partner Shadow entered the picture in summer 2018. He showed up at the nest and would not leave. FOBBV called the new male Shadow because he appeared so determined to stay in the nest, and the team initially believed he was one of Jackie’s siblings, also named Shadow. The eagle’s plumage indicated he was one year older than the other Shadow and not Jackie’s sibling, but the name stuck. 

Shadow continued to hold his ground and Mr. B gave up and eventually left. Jackie then accepted Shadow as her new mate.

Wildlife cameras documented Jackie and Shadow’s life together, offering viewers a direct look into the brutality and beauty of nature. The pair successfully raised chicks in 2019 (Cookie and Simba) and 2022 (Spirit). The pair’s eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Jackie laid three eggs that all hatched in early March. However, a strong snowstorm dumped up to two feet of snow and battered the nest with strong wind and only two of the chicks (Sunny and Gizmo) survived.  

In January, Jackie laid two eggs in the nest, but ravens destroyed them. She later laid two more eggs that hatched in April and named Luna and Sandy. The name Sandy is in honor of FOBBV’s former executive director Sandy Steers who died from cancer in February. 

Jackie’s injury and death

On July 17, Jackie was found injured on the ground near Dana Point Park, California. Cell phone video from a witness confirmed that she had an altercation with two other subadult eagles. She successfully fended off the other eagles by turning over and using her talons, but could not fly far away. 

She was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center, where she was diagnosed with severe anemia. Her anemia worsened during the first week of August, the Ojai Raptor Center said that she was in unstable condition on August 9. Her packed cell volume (PCV) fell below percent, before rising to nine percent.  

On July 17, Jackie was found injured on the ground near Dana Point Park, California. Cell phone video from a witness confirmed that she had an altercation with two other subadult eagles. She successfully fended off the other eagles by turning over and using her talons, but could not fly far away. 

She was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center for care, where she was diagnosed with severe anemia. Her anemia worsened during the first week of August, the Ojai Raptor Center said that she was in unstable condition on August 9. Her packed cell volume (PCV) fell below percent, before rising to nine percent. 

Jackie died early in the morning on August 10. The necropsy did not reveal a single cause of death, and instead pointed to several factors including severe anemia, blood clots in her wing and one kidney, and liver and lung abnormalities.

Jackie’s resilience inspired millions of people around the world. To honor her memory, FOBBV accepts donations to support its conservation efforts in the area.  Supporters can also donate to Ojai Raptor Center’s Bald Eagle Recovery Campaign. 

The post Jackie the bald eagle’s final cause of death revealed appeared first on Popular Science.

The internet’s favorite Fat Bears in Alaska are not appearing on wildlife cameras quite as much these days. The salmon has been eaten, the Fat Bear Week crown has been won, and it’s time to survive the winter ahead. However,  some other bears from the great white north are getting their close-up.

Explore.org and Polar Bears International run eight different livestreams from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Known as the polar bear capital of the world, Churchill’s Wapusk National Park is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) maternity dens. During October and November, viewers can watch bear families wait for sea ice to form. 

Twenty populations of polar bears live in the Arctic. The population living along the Western Hudson Bay is one of the most comprehensively studied and best known. It is part of Canada’s “Seasonal Ice Ecoregion.” In this area of the Arctic, the sea ice completely melts in the summer, typically in July. While the bears may remain sporadically active on land, in the summer, they generally create day beds or curl up in the bush to rest. The pregnant females will often settle in or near their dens for several months to rest where it is cooler and with less mosquitoes. Many of these dens were first excavated by bears generations ago.

In the fall, all of the bears except the pregnant female will increase their activity and move closer to the coast. Here, the bears will hunt for seals once the bay freezes over again. From early October onward, they will gather on the tundra along the shores of Hudson Bay, waiting for ice to form. As soon as the first coastal ice is thick enough to support their weight, they will head out to find seals. They may continue to trek back and forth between ice and land at first, but they primarily head out onto the bay until it begins to thin and they ashore again in the summer.

These cameras are one way for scientists and the public to aid in real scientific research. In December 2025, scientists here confirmed that a wild female polar bear adopted a cub that was not her own. This rare behavior was captured on cameras during the polar bear’s annual migration along Western Hudson Bay. 

The mother bear (designated as bear X33991) was first spotted in spring 2025, when she came out of her maternity den with one tagged cub. When scientists saw her again in the fall, she had two cubs. One cub had a tag and one did not, indicating that the untagged cub was not hers. The survival rate for a polar bear cub into adulthood is about 50 percent, so only time will tell how this blended family will do. 

Viewers can also take a virtual ride on the Tundra Buggy Lodge from two different angles. The lodge is made of tundra buggies that are linked together like a train. This moving hotel includes staff quarters, a dining area, a supply cart, and two carts for guests.

By night, viewers can also take in another of the north’s natural wonders with the aurora borealis cam. The northern lights livecam is on top of the Churchill Northern Studies Center and located directly underneath the aurora oval. This spot is considered one of the best places to watch the aurora dance across the night sky. The aurora season is only just beginning, with late winter and early spring being the best times to tune into this camera.

And if birds are more your thing, a raven cam is streaming from Cape Churchill Wapusk National Park. The resident ravens selected the topside of a radar reflector attached to the Cape Churchill observation tower for their nest. This “cabin in the sky” has also been home to numerous biologists researching the local wildlife since the 1970s. This camera will be switched off at night to preserve power.

The organizations also provide highlight reels to help viewers catch up on what to watch for this winter. Happy polar bear season!

The post How to watch Churchill’s famous polar bears live appeared first on Popular Science.

A migrating monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) recently brought into Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown on New York’s Long Island came with a unique backstory. The male butterfly flew into a nearby house and landed on a pot of refried beans. The man living there took the butterfly out of the pan, but by morning the butterfly still could not fly. There was only one thing left to do for the injured insect—bring him to the professionals.

“Butterflies are incredibly delicate, and even handling them can cause additional damage or leave them unable to fly,” Janine Bendicksen, Sweetbriar Nature Center’s Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation, tells Popular Science. “That makes butterfly rehabilitation especially challenging—we have to be extremely careful with every step.”

The team got to work on fixing this unusual patient. They started by checking the butterfly for a parasite called OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha) that can live on monarchs. If the insect is parasite-free, the team can then assess the injuries and determine whether rehabilitation is possible. Butterflies are very delicate, and just handling them can cause additional damage.

“In cases where a monarch has lost part of a wing, we may be able to transplant a portion of a donor wing,” says Bendicksen. “When the circumstances are right, we can carefully attach the donor wing to the injured butterfly.”

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The team gently sprayed the butterfly’s wings with water several times to remove the bean residue that prevented him from flying. Then, a challenge arose. How do you remove the greasy residue from such delicate wings? The solution came from a common powdery substance found in kitchen pantries—cornstarch.

“We use starch regularly in wildlife rehabilitation to help dry out materials, and we had also previously used starch when replacing a wing on another monarch,” Bendicksen explains. “Because we already knew it was safe and effective in that context, we felt it was a good option for this particular situation. We were looking for something that would help remove the remaining moisture and residue without causing additional damage to the delicate wings.”

The cornstarch trick worked. The monarch was able to fly again. The team gently transported him outside and he took to the skies. Monarchs are currently on their way to the overwintering grounds in the forested mountains of Central Mexico. Their migrations are multigenerational, with roughly four generations of monarch butterflies emerging throughout the year. This butterfly may have been in the third generation (lays eggs in the north, but does not migrate) of the fourth generation that treks south. 

“It’s not often that we are called upon to rehabilitate a butterfly,” Bendicksen says. “Most butterflies have relatively short lifespans, but when we receive a monarch in the fall—especially one that will travel thousands of miles on its migration to Mexico—we do everything we can to give it the best possible chance.”

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It’s one of nature’s seemingly magical tricks. A honey bee (Apis mellifera) stings a victim, and the stinger will still pump venom into a wound even after it has fully detached from the bee’s body. Thanks to some high-speed video, we may finally know the secrets behind this sting. 

A team in Australia found that the tiny 2 millimeter (or only 0.08 inch) stinger of a honey bee works like a double-piston micro-pump. It pumps in two different directions and can deliver a continuous flow of venom. The findings are described in a study published today in the journal PNAS.

“We’ve known since as early as 1910 that the venom sac of a honey bee stinger empties into a chamber with little pumping elements called valves, but until now we didn’t know exactly how they work,” Fiorella Ramirez-Esquivel, a study co-author and entomologist at Macquarie University, said in a statement. “If you’ve ever been stung by a bee, you’ll know it’s a very painful process, but now we’ve been able to identify all the working parts packed into the tiny stinger.”

In bees, autotomy is when a worker bee thrusts its stinger into a target and then leaves the stinger behind. The stinger then continues to penetrate into the target tissue and inject venom all on its own. 

To better understand how autotomy works, the team from Macquarie and the University of New South Wales had bees sting a clear gel that mimics human skin, while taking high-speed video. They saw that the tiny stinger itself contains several different components including one venom sac and a pumping chamber, muscles, and nerves. The stinger also has two sharp, pointed lancets. These lancets slide backwards and forwards on a system of rails (called the olistheter), similar to a reciprocating saw. These saw-like lancets are what pushes the stinger deeper into the skin and also pumps the venom.

Each of the two long lancets has a valve attached to it that sits inside of the pumping chamber. The team found that these valves change shape to form a seal during the downstroke. They then collapse during the upstroke, creating pressure for pumping while minimizing backflow when refilling.

“Finally, and perhaps most dramatically, as the valves meet in the middle of the stroke, they change shape again to push past each other,” said Ramirez-Esquivel. “This is a remarkable strategy to pump fluid since maintaining a seal is vital to effectively transmit pressure. The unique geometry of the valves is the key; they act as collapsible pistons and—by pumping in opposite directions—they’re able to deliver a continuous flow of venom.”

The team continued to explore the mechanics and flow of the stinger with microCT scans. They then used these scans to 3D print a small robot of the bulb chamber and lancets. The tiny bee-bot confirmed these key features of the pumping cycle.

“The double piston design adds complexity but it’s the key to the stinger being able to deliver venom continuously in a compact, autonomous unit,” said Dr Ramirez-Esquivel.

Understanding this mechanism could inspire designs for new micropumps to deliver medicine to human patients in a less invasive way.

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An endangered mouse is slowly returning to the Golden State. Pacific pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) are about as large as a human thumb and about as heavy as three pennies. Unsurprisingly, they are the smallest mammals in North America and are one of many pocket mouse subspecies. But they are also one of the most endangered. 

Pacific pocket mice have lived in and around Los Angeles and San Diego but before 1993, the species was believed to be extinct. When a small population was found in Orange County,  the tiny rodent was listed as endangered. 

Today, there are only three original populations in the wild, but groups are being reintroduced into the wild. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and their partners recently established their third reintroduced population of Pacific pocket mice at North San Mateo, a training area within Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

“This spring, we provided 50 mice to USGS [United States Geographical Survey] to establish a third reintroduced population at North San Mateo, and we’re very encouraged that reproduction has already been documented there,” Debra Shier, associate director of recovery ecology for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, tells Popular Science. 

The two other reintroduced populations are also doing well. They are the Water Tank population in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and the Wire Mountain population on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Mice there are reproducing, and the Water Tank population has a high to very high density. Additionally, the Wire Mountain population has a medium to high density, according to Shier. 

The Pacific pocket mouse’s recovery is good news for the subspecies, but also for their ecosystem. Their burrows contribute to improving soil hydrology and nutrient cycling and also shelter other species, Shier added in a statement. An additional population helps return these crucial ecological functions to their native coastal ecosystems. 

Since the start of its Pacific Pocket Mouse Conservation Program in 2006, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has released over 500 of these tiny mammals into the wild, adding them to both new and established populations.  

“We’re now beginning to allow the established populations to expand beyond their original fenced release areas. That’s especially important this year because of the potential for heavy winter rains associated with the forecasted El Niño,” Shier says. “We’ve found that high winter precipitation can be associated with lower overwinter survival, so allowing mice to spread out and settle in a larger area may help make these populations more resilient.”

The greatest threat to Pacific pocket mice is the loss and fragmentation of their specialized coastal habitat. Habitat loss diminishes their range and makes them vulnerable to inbreeding. 

“So, recovery isn’t simply about breeding more mice,” Shier points out. “We need to protect and restore suitable habitat, establish additional populations, and maintain genetic diversity across those populations.” 

The post North America’s tiniest mammals are living at a Marine Corps training area. That’s good. appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature. It’s beautiful. It’s awe-inspiring. And it’s really scary. The new book Nature is Metal: It’s A Life-Eats-Life World features full-color photographs and vivid descriptions of the physical features, survival adaptations, and hunting skills innate to 75 of nature’s most metal plants, animals, and natural phenomena. 

Browse through some of these raw and real images in the gallery below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)

Excerpted from Nature Is Metal: It’s a Life-Eats-Life World by Ettore R. Paolucci and Hans Aschim. Copyright © 2026. Available from Workman, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. wherever books are sold on October 13.

About the Author

Ettore R. Paolucci (Rick) is the founder of Nature Is Metal, the viral phenomenon with 7.5M subscribers on Instagram (@natureismetal) and 1.23M on YouTube (@natureism3tal). A self-taught storyteller with a sharp eye for viral content, he’s created his own unique voice that’s defined a new way of seeing nature online.

Hans Aschim is a writer and creative director based in Vancouver, BC. When he’s not at his desk, he’s trail running in the Coast Mountains—always with bear spray.

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In the Maricao State Forest on the western end of Puerto Rico, a biologist encountered a flock of parrots in a panic. Raúl Correa of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed the chaotic squawks and found a young bird in the grips of a red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor).

The snake had trapped a juvenile Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) on a bamboo stalk. Correa quickly sliced the bamboo, causing the snake to lose its grip and release the bird. USFWS observed the parrot after the incident to ensure it didn’t suffer any lingering injuries. Just a day later, the bird returned to flying with its flock.

Red-tailed boas are considered an invasive species in Puerto Rico. Native to South America, they came to the island in the 1990s through the illegal exotic pet trade. Without anything above it in the food chain, the snakes spread rapidly and have caused widespread damage to native wildlife populations, including the critically endangered Puerto Rican parrot.

https://www.facebook.com/USFWS/posts/pfbid0fRJQr168YUxz4uzLjf4zrPPezcDHaQ7ixXa48RUgWeC9GeaFLuRLyQcNTGs2DY5zl

Puerto Rico is also home to a native boa (Chilabothrus inornatus) that is smaller in size. The native Puerto Rican Boa can grow up to 7 feet long. By contrast the invasive red-tailed boa can grow over 10 feet and has introduced viruses to native snake populations on the island, according to a 2023 study.

“Experience has shown that island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to snake invasions, and unfortunately Puerto Rico has no natural predators that can keep the numbers of these prolific, snakes in check,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “Humans were responsible for introducing this scourge to the island, and are the only hope for mitigating the problem before it is too late for the native species.”

Different places have deployed a variety of tactics to remove invasive snakes species, including Florida that hosts an annual Python Hunt. The contest allows both amateur and professional hunters to kill invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) for prize money.

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As the summer drew to a close, aerial surveyors with the New England Aquarium saw more than 2,000 animals across 15 different marine species in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, southeast of Cape Cod. Among that vast diversity, the team spotted Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana). This ethereal fish is “one of the ocean’s best-kept secrets,” according to the aquarium.

“We rarely see Chilean devil rays on our aerial surveys,” Katherine McKenna, a researcher in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, tells Popular Science. McKenna was one of the observers on the team that saw the Chilean devil rays from above. 

“The Monument’s deep sea canyons, complex oceanographic conditions, and productive waters support a remarkable diversity of marine life, especially in the summer months when warm water protruding from the Gulf Stream draws in seasonal visitors like Chilean devil rays,” she says.”

Chilean devil rays, also called sicklefin devil rays, are olive-green- or brown-colored and are found in the planet’s tropics and warm temperature seas. These large fish have an 11- to 12.5-foot-wide wingspan and weigh 715 to 1,100 pounds. They’re named after the country where they were first scientifically documented, and McKenna says that the “devil” was inspired by the horn-shaped cephalic fins around their mouths. They are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and mainly threatened by by-catch and overfishing.

What’s more, the species is relatively difficult to study. They can travel very far, and they are frequently solitary and usually found offshore. When rays like these are found in a group, however, it’s called a “fever.” One thing we  do know is that Chilean devil rays are the deepest diving ray species. They can dive almost 6,000 feet deep. 

“This is possible due to a specialized network of blood vessels surrounding their brain that allows them to keep their brain warm even at very cold water temperatures at deep depths,” says McKenna.

The post ‘One of the ocean’s best-kept secrets’ spotted near Massachusetts appeared first on Popular Science.

While fall officially began only a few weeks ago, many of us have come to expect pumpkins and Halloween decorations in stores as early as August. And this year, an adorable baby turtle joined in on the early autumnal festivities.

In August, Florida native Michael Landress spotted a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchling making its way toward the water. “This little one, surprisingly, had an earthy tone of autumn. ‘Pumpkin Spice’ sprang to mind as the little orange hatchling raced to its ocean home,” Landress wrote in a statement sent to Popular Science, despite the fact that he doesn’t like pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pie.

Loggerhead turtle hatchlings usually have dark to light brown top shells (called a carapace) and dark flippers that can be pale along part of their edges. Their bottom shells (or plastron) is typically a tan or faded yellow, according to Daniel Evans, a biologist at the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Very different shell colors, like “pumpkin spice” or in albino turtles, are rare, Evans adds. 

“For hatchling loggerhead sea turtles, coloration is important for camouflage and hiding from predators while floating in mats of seaweed, such as sargassum,” Evans tells Popular Science. “The common coloration, even with slight variation, provides very good camouflage, while coloration that is different won’t provide that same level of protection. This is most likely why we don’t see such drastic differences in coloration in adult loggerheads.”

Adult loggerhead turtles usually have a more reddish-brown carapace and pale yellowish plastron, as well as brown to yellowish flippers.

Loggerhead turtles are named in honor of their large heads. They live in subtropical and temperate oceans, and Florida is home to one of the largest loggerhead nesting aggregations on the planet. Nonetheless, they are classified as Endangered by the IUCN and federally-designated as Threatened by the United States. A significant threat to the species is bycatch in commercial fisheries. 

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Squid skin behaves a bit like a large, 10-armed human ear. While scientists at Case Western Reserve University were probing these enigmatic cephalopods, they discovered that squid have significantly more hair cells than was previously known. 

Hair cells are cells with bundles of hair-like protrusions, and researchers already knew that squid had  them on their heads and arms. Now, it looks like the invertebrates have hundreds more of them all over their bodies, with potential insight for understanding human hearing. 

“Squid are cephalopods with a diverse population of hair cells on the surface of their bodies, which may yield insights not only into how these fascinating animals detect water movement to survive, but also into how hearing and deafness occur in humans,” Brian McDermott, a biologist and co-author of a quid study recently published in the journal Current Biology, said in a statement. That’s because these squid hairs are similar to those inside the human ear, which enables us to hear things. 

McDermott (who investigates hair cells) and his colleagues used an imaging technique called light sheet microscopy to probe the cells. During this process, a thin sheet of light lights up one plane of a specimen at a time and researchers can produce detailed 3D images while minimizing tissue damage. Their work also included the first full-body mapping of lateral lines (features made up of hair cell clusters) on squid.

Understanding these hairs have implications for our own ears. Human hearing involves sound vibrations moving to a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear called a cochlea. The cochlea is filled with thousands of hair cells, each of which has a collection of small hair-like features called stereocilia, or cilia. The length of cilia depends on where they are found. If they are in areas where low pitches are detected, the cilia are longer. If they are in high-pitch areas, the cilia are shorter. This positioning helps orient each cell to a specific sound frequency. 

When the sound vibrations reach the cochlea, the cilia move. The hair cells then transmit the signals to the brain via the nervous system, where the messages are turned into meaningful sounds. Marine animals such as squid and octopuses feature similar cilia bundles on their bodies. Their survival appears to depend on detecting various frequencies of water movement, akin to how human ears pick up on sound pitches. 

In other words, squid skin appears to behave like a human ear. This new research even suggests that squids regulate the length of the hair bundles to tune the hair cells to various frequencies, similarly to human ears. The hair bundles in fish lateral lines, on the other hand, are all the same length. So by studying squids, researchers could learn more about human hearing. 

“Often, when a child is born deaf or a hearing person loses their hearing, it is the hair bundle that has been damaged,” McDermott concluded. “So, studying the squid’s hair bundle holds promise for understanding how hearing loss occurs.”

The post Squid are covered in little hairs like the ones in your ear appeared first on Popular Science.

As Joanthan the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) approaches his 195th birthday this December, there is some good news for his fellow tortoises. The previously endangered species is thriving and stable in the Seychelles, according to a study published this week in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

Aldabra giant tortoises are one of the world’s largest land tortoises. They weigh up to 550 pounds and live 150 years. These gentle giants are native to Aldabra Island, one of the Seychelles northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. They are also found in the Galápagos, but the population on Aldabra here is much smaller. As the largest animal on  Aldabra, they play an ecological role that is similar to elephants. Tortoises are the main consumers of vegetation and will change the habitat while searching for food. They will knock over small trees and shrubs all to get those nutritious leaves. Any seeds not digested will pass through the tortoise’s digestive tract and become food for many other animals.

To check on the population at Aldabra, a team from the University of Exeter in England and the Seychelles Islands Foundation Aldabra analyzed giant tortoise counts collected between 2018 and 2022 on Aldabra Atoll. They found that the population currently stands at approximately 180,000 individuals.

The survey is the first rigorous, atoll-wide estimate of the population and the first update since the late 1990s. At the time, it was believed that about 100,000 tortoises were living on the island. 

“More than 180,000 giant tortoises roaming freely on our atoll is proof of what long-term commitment to conservation can achieve,” Frauke Fleischer-Dogley, a study co-author and the CEO of the Seychelles Island Foundation, said in a statement. “This is wonderful news for Seychelles, for the world, and for everyone who has worked to protect Aldabra.”

The team found that the population was relatively stable during the survey period, with a best estimate of almost 183,000 adult and sub-adult tortoises. This number is a far cry from the 19th century. Heavy exploitation and overhunting reduced Aldabra’s tortoises to fewer than 1,000 individuals. Aldabra became a strict nature reserve in 1981 and a UNESCO site in 1982, and these and other conservation measures have helped them rebound.  

“Aldabra’s giant tortoise monitoring programme is one of the longest running in the region, but the atoll’s dense vegetation makes counting tortoises genuinely difficult in places,” added study co-author and University of Exeter biologist Nancy Bunbury. “By modelling what we didn’t see, as well as what we did, we’ve produced the most reliable baseline yet for this iconic Seychelles species, establishing a benchmark we can use to track the population for decades to come.”

However, the team cautions that this new figure does not mean that the population has nearly doubled since 1999. The earlier surveys did not account for tortoises present on the atoll, but not seen by surveyors, and were possibly hidden in dense scrub or shade. This new survey took advantage of a more sophisticated statistical technique called Bayesian hierarchical distance sampling. It corrects for both missed animals and for differences in visibility across habitats. 

Since these earlier methods likely missed tortoises, the team suggests that previous figures were probably underestimated. At the same time, the population has genuinely grown and now appears healthy and stable.

The study also found that tortoises are at the highest densities in Aldabra’s grasslands, aka  “tortoise turf.” They also are often found on open exposed surfaces and in open mixed scrub. The reptiles were harder to detect in dense scrub, mangrove, and habitats covered in a shrubby plant called Pemphis. The new modelling helped correct for reduced visibility from the scrub, Pemphis, and mangrove. 

Even with this welcome good news, the team says that vigilance remains essential. Aldabra’s climate is changing, and seeing longer and more frequent droughts. Scientists suspect that these serious dry spells will reduce the shade and food available to tortoises, and rising sea levels threaten low-lying parts of the atoll.

The tortoises are also threatened by invasive mammals. Though feral goats were eradicated in 2012, cats and black rats will still eat tortoise eggs and hatchlings. While there are plans to eradicate the rest of these invasive species, reduced eggs could hinder further population growth. 

“These results are great news for the tortoises and testament to the fantastic work done in the field,” added study co-author and University of Exeter, Cornwall statistical ecologist Dave Hudson. “But it’s important to remember that the numbers provide a baseline – not an endpoint. Hopefully we have provided the conservation managers the evidence they need to track future change and act early as the tortoises face increasing pressures from climate change, drought and invasive species.”

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A rare Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is recovering after being found struggling in the surf on a Maine beach. Earlier this week, the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine, shared new footage of the winged mammal chowing down on a hearty plate of mealworms—a good sign for her recovery.

“She was very lethargic upon admission, and is now feisty and active,” Kristen Lamb, the Center for Wildlife’s Executive Director tells Popular Science. “She has been eating well, and responding to treatment including fluid therapy, temperature regulation and a specific bat habitat that allows her to mimic natural behaviors and reduces stress.”

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Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle and a common bat food. To keep these mealworm meals close to what a bat would be eating in the wild, the team even supplements what the worms themselves eat. This way, the nutrients inside of bugs resembles the contents of wild insects versus store-bought mealworms.  

Eastern red bats like this one are one of eight bat species found in and around southern Maine. They are considered tree bats because they act more solitary and roost in trees among the foliage instead of in large communal groups or in caves like most bat species. 

“They are camouflaged as they hang curled up in the furry membranes of their tails, suspended by usually one foot upside down, giving the appearance of a curled leaf or pine cone moving in the breeze,” says Lamb.

Red bats are also a species that eats “on the wing.” This means that they must be handfed or learn how to eat and drink from a dish if under human care. In the wild, they can grab insects from the air while flying, and glide and dip down to drink water while still flying.

Bats also have high metabolisms, and specific nutritional, temperature and humidity requirements. This isn’t because they are picky. These factors all help them roost. 

“[Bats] hang upside down by their back feet, which their circulatory systems are adapted for versus ours which would result in a pounding headache!,” Lamb explains. “Clinic staff must have knowledge of this, along with their anatomy, physiology, sensitivity to medication and handling techniques in order to successfully treat them.”

Though humans generally think of bats more during spooky season, bats like these are a critical part of the ecosystem all year and directly tied to our health. They gobble up mosquitoes that can carry West Nile Virus or EEE, providing a natural and free form of pest control. 

The team is hopeful that this little red bat can make a quick recovery and be released back into the wild, but also want to be sure she’s okay.

“Red bats are migrating right now and we don’t want her to miss her window,” Lamb says. “At the same time, she is recovering from the shock of being submerged in the cold Atlantic and if we release her before she can do everything healthy red bats can do in the wild, she would succumb to predators, the elements, or starvation shortly after release.”

The Center for Wildlife treats up to 2,500 injured and orphaned wild animals from a 100-mile radius per year. The center operates without federal funding and donations can be made through their website. 

The post Rare red bat rescued in Maine gobbles up mealworms appeared first on Popular Science.

Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands are home to an incredible array of wildlife. Amid landscapes of black lava fields, scattered prickly pear cacti, lush highlands, and green mangrove fringes, you’ll spot lumbering land iguanas in striking shades of yellow, orange, and red, comical blue-footed boobies, and some of the pinkest flamingos around. But it turns out that these magnificent creatures aren’t born with their vibrant hues. They actually have to work for them! 

To find out why some wildlife changes color according to their diets, and what these various tones and tints mean for survival, Popular Science turned to Jorge Alex Gutierrez Guerrero, an expedition leader on the Galapagos Islands’ Yacht Isabela II. Guerrero says it all comes down to naturally occurring pigments that play a major role in an animal’s immune system. They can even change the color of your skin!

What are carotenoids? 

The colorful displays of Galapagos wildlife, including the bright cyan feet of blue-footed boobies and the impressive red throat pouch of magnificent frigatebirds that they inflate during courtship, are a direct result of their diet. Specifically, they result from the digestion of nature’s own punchy dyes known as carotenoids. 

“Basically, carotenoids are natural pigments produced by plants, algae, and phytoplankton,” says Gutierrez. These organic chemical compounds play a vital role in nature. They help capture light for photosynthesis, which is how plants use sunlight to make their own food. They act as powerful antioxidants that can protect cells from damage. And they provide the vibrant colors that many animals, birds, and fish need to survive. 

For instance, flamingos gradually lose their red pigmentation when their diet lacks carotenoids. According to Gutierrez, this is a perfect example of the “direct relationship between dietary carotenoids and coloration.” 

How Galapagos animals get their colors

Wildlife in the Galapagos gets carotenoids primarily through their diets, since these are pigments that they can’t produce naturally. The archipelago’s land iguanas eat cactus flowers and leaves to obtain carotenoids, while blue-footed boobies consume fresh fish like sardines and anchovies to acquire them. Pink flamingos get their fill of carotenoids through algae and brine shrimp. 

Once the wildlife digests and metabolizes these natural pigments, the colors of carotenoids, which primarily produce shades of red, orange, and yellow, begin to show in everything from skin and shells to feet and feathers. In many cases, the more brilliant the shades, the healthier the creature. While carotenoids don’t naturally create the color blue, the archipelago’s iconic blue-footed boobies get their turquoise feet from a mix of yellow carotenoid pigments and the collagen structure of their skin. 

How other animals get their vibrant hues

Examples of the power of carotenoids even exist in our own backyards. 

The sunny yellow coloring of an American goldfinch is a direct result of its carotenoid-rich diet of summer weeds and sunflowers, while northern cardinals get their brilliant red hue through carotenoid-heavy foods such as honeysuckle, hackberries, and seeds.

Why do animals need carotenoids? 

Carotenoids aren’t a core nutritional necessity. However, they are an important source of vitamin A, a key component in reproductive health, good vision, and a strong immune system. 

While the bulk of birds and animals get carotenoids through their diets, a few rare invertebrates, like spider mites and gall gnats, can create their own carotenoids. They do so through a rare genetic accident, likely caused by a virus or parasite. An ancestor of the spider mite and an ancestor of the gall gnat had close encounters with ancient fungi, causing a horizontal gene transfer. Essentially, horizontal gene transfer is the transmission of DNA between different organisms—and, in this case, species.

Every animal processes these pigments slightly differently. For some animals, carotenoids completely change the color of their features. Others simply absorb carotenoids without changing color at all. 

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But all animals use carotenoids to fight off disease, such as boosting immune cells to destroy any harmful bacteria. Only healthy wildlife can spare excess carotenoids for bright skin, beaks, or feathers. So the more vibrantly hued birds, reptiles, and fish are, the healthier their immune system. They have enough carotenoids to spare for flashy colors.

For instance, blue-footed boobies with electric, turquoise-blue feet tend to be healthiest. In fact, boobies that go without food for a couple of days can end up with dull-colored feet. When animals get sick, they also lose their hue. First, their bodies divert carotenoids away from exterior features, like skin and feathers, and use them for fighting illness. Second, absorbing nutrients such as carotenoids becomes more difficult. Without carotenoids, an animal’s bright pigments will quickly fade. 

Bright colors also come in handy during mating rituals 

Carotenoids also play vital roles in mating rituals. When it comes to blue-footed boobies, “It’s very important for a female to find a male with the brightest blue feet, because she is choosing the best provider” for her offspring, says Gutierrez. 

It’s a feature that these marine birds show off frequently in their oh-so-quirky mating dance, which includes an elaborate high-step strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive males appear to their female counterparts. 

What’s more, a famous 2006 scientific study on blue-footed boobies showed that females lay smaller eggs for males with duller feet. Basically, a female will put in less reproductive investment if her male isn’t up to par. 

Why are animals in the Galapagos so colorful? 

“Carotenoids are prominent all over the world,” says Gutierrez. “But they’re especially visible among wildlife in the Galapagos, because it’s a limited environment where the ecosystems are well-marked.” What Gutierrez means is that the archipelago is so geographically isolated and far from the coast of Ecuador, many species—like marine iguanas—have nowhere else to go. Even within the Galapagos, a large percentage of wildlife stick closely to their specific islands. 

Another reason the animals here are so colorful? Because an overall lack of predators has allowed the wildlife to evolve without needing dull or camouflage coats to protect them. 

Most of the archipelago’s carotenoids come from the ocean, or in the case of land iguanas and yellow-beaked Darwin’s finches, through cactus nectar and pollen. 

Further afield, the iconic pink-orange flesh of Pacific Northwest salmon is a direct result of their carotenoid-rich diet—in their case, chowing down on krill and small shrimp. Roseate spoonbills, found across the mangrove swamps, mudflats, and wetlands of the U.S. Gulf Coast, get their rosy pink sheen from dining on crustaceans, crabs, and crayfish. 

Can carotenoids make people change colors?

As to whether eating carotenoid-rich foods will change a person’s skin color, it’s definitely possible. 

The best known example comes from consuming carrots. These vegetables are loaded with a red-orange carotenoid called beta-carotene, which our bodies convert into vitamin A. 

But when we consume more beta-carotene than we need, the excess pigment starts circulating in our bloodstream and leads to a yellow or orange glow. “It’s mostly visible in your palms,” says Gutierrez. 

Still, he says, don’t worry if you have a penchant for sardines and anchovies—the main diet of blue-footed boobies. Since humans process and metabolize these compounds differently, “you’re not going to turn blue, too.”

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

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