Animal News: Page 30

Bracken Bat Cave, Home to World's Largest Bat Colony, Opens to Public Tours (April 13, 2012): The Bracken Bat Cave in Comal County, Texas, which has the world's largest bat colony, opens to public tours for the first time this summer.

Scientists Use Satellite Images to Take Emperor Penguin Census (April 13, 2012): A new study, reported here in PLoS ONE, used satellite mapping technology to reveal that there are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica than previously thought.

Scientists Say Baboons Can Tell Difference Between Real Words and Nonsense Words (April 12, 2012): Researchers have found that baboons can tell the difference between real printed English words (such as KITE) and nonsense words (such as ZEVS).

Robotic Cat Disease Reported in Scotland (April 11, 2012): Vets in Scotland have been trying to explain strange symptoms in 21 cats that arrived at Strathbogie Veterinary Centre, Huntly, and Morven Veterinary practice, Alford, both in North-East Scotland, between 2001 and 2010.

Bats Conserve Energy During Flight by Drawing in Wings on Upstroke (April 11, 2012): A new Brown University study found that bats take advantage of their flexibility by folding in their wings on the upstroke to save inertial energy.

Black Queen Hypothesis: Some Species Survive by Discarding Genes (April 7, 2012): A new hypothesis on evolution, the Black Queen Hypothesis, suggests some living organisms evolve by discarding genes and letting other species play their hand.

Pigs Interact With Large Touchscreen in Pig Chase iPad Game (April 7, 2012): Scientists have created an iPad game that pigs and humans can play together.

Dogs Being Trained to Find Burmese Pythons in the Everglades (April 4, 2012): Burmese pythons have become a major pest and are consuming wildlife in the Everglades National Park.

Scuba Diver Killed by Shark Off Stratham Beach, Western Australia (March 31, 2012): A 33-year-old scuba diver was killed yesterday by a shark while scuba diving off the southwest coast of Western Australia.

Study: Caffeine, Amphetamines Make Slacker Rats Work Harder, But Make Worker Rats Lazier (March 30, 2012): Researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted a study on rats using caffeine and amphetamines.

Peter the Elephant Plays With Tablet (March 29, 2012): Here is a video of Peter the elephant playing with a Samsung tablet, the Galaxy Note.

DNA Traces All Domesticated Cattle Back to One Small Herd From 10,500 Years Ago (March 27, 2012): A new genetic study has found that all cattle are descended from as few as 80 animals that were domesticated from wild ox in the Near East some 10,500 years ago.

Elusive Long-Fingered Frog Rediscovered in Burundi Rainforest After 62 Years (March 27, 2012): Herpetologists from the California Academy of Sciences and University of Texas at El Paso discovered a single specimen of the Bururi long-fingered frog (Cardioglossa cyaneospila) during a research expedition to Burundi in December 2011.

Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory Launches Deep-Sea Animal Life Guide (March 26, 2012): Scientists at the Hawaiii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) has launched a deep-sea animal identification guide.

World's Oldest Fossil of a Salamander Discovered in China (March 25, 2012): The world's oldest fossil of a salamander has been discovered.

Andean Condor Chick Stretches Out Her Wings (March 25, 2012): This Andean Condor chick at Taronga is starting to shed her fluffy down coat.

Hydra, Found in Ponds and Lakes, See and Hunt Without Eyes (March 24, 2012): Hydra magnipapillata, a polyp found in ponds, lakes, and streams, reacts to light even thought it has no eyes.

Deceptive Male Crayfish With Large, Weak Claws Win Fights by Trickery (March 24, 2012): Researchers have found that male crayfish often win fights by intimidation alone.

New Scorpion Species Discovered in California (March 23, 2012): An elusive new scorpion species has been discovered in California's Death Valley National Park by researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Extinct Species of Scops Owl Discovered in Madeira (March 23, 2012): Scientists have discovered the fossil remains of a new type of scops owl, the first extinct bird on the archipelago of Madeira,a Portuguese archipelago.

Humans Hunted Australian Megafauna to Death Say Researchers (March 22, 2012): Researchers say it was the arrival of humans in Australia that led to the extinction of Australia's megafauna, such as the 330-pound Sthenurus, an extinct giant browsing kangaroo.

Georgia Tech Researchers Studying Sandfish Lizards for Search and Rescue Robot Ideas (March 22, 2012): Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have been studying sandfish lizards for the past three years.

Wildlife Photographers Create BeetleCam to Photograph Lions (March 21, 2012): Will & Matt Burrard-Lucas, two brothers from the UK specializing in wildlife photography, created BeetleCam, a special remote controlled camera to photograph wildlife.

Birds in Urban Environments Sing Slightly Different Songs (March 20, 2012): Conservation scientist Peter Marra, working with Smithsonian researchers, found that some urban birds sing slightly different songs than their country cousins.

Eight Baby Cantil Vipers Born at Denver Zoo (March 19, 2012): Eight baby cantil vipers (Agkistrodon bilineatus) were born on February 12 at the Denver Zoo.