ecology

Citizen Zoo Is Rewilding the UK, One Grasshopper at a Time

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Citizen Zoo Is Rewilding the UK, One Grasshopper at a Time

The large marsh grasshopper was once ever-present across Eastern England’s wetlands. But after decades of habitat destruction, these handsome insects are now fragmented and locally extinct, holding out in the wettest fens, valleys, and peat bogs of the New Forest and Dorset. Now, London-based Citizen Zoo is trying to bring them back—and it’s planning to … Read more

Ocean Temperatures Keep Shattering Records—and Stunning Scientists

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Ocean Temperatures Keep Shattering Records—and Stunning Scientists

So what’s going on here? For one, the oceans have been steadily warming over the decades, absorbing something like 90 percent of the extra heat that humans have added to the atmosphere. “The oceans are our saviors, in a way,” says biological oceanographer Francisco Chavez of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. “Things … Read more

Here’s Scientific Proof Your Cat Will Eat Almost Anything

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Here’s Scientific Proof Your Cat Will Eat Almost Anything

Don’t let their fluff fool you: Your cat was built for murder. Felines, no matter how chonky, eepy, or boopable, are remarkably adaptable obligate carnivores, down to eat just about anything that fits in their mouth. Well-intentioned (or … threatening?) gifts of dead birds, rats, and lizards are familiar to outdoor cat owners—even my shockingly … Read more