In 1868, Hong Kong gifted Hawaii 8 axis deer in goodwill; their descendants now number about 60,000 and damage crops, native plants, and forests

Eight axis deer arrived in 1868; their descendants now number about 60,000. (Wikimedia Commons)

Eight axis deer, a goodwill gift from Hong Kong, were released on Molokaʻi in 1868. Today their descendants number in the tens of thousands, and they eat crops and native plants and damage forests. According to the U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet, Hawaii’s native plants evolved without grazing animals, which can make them vulnerable to … Read more

15 guanacos were taken to a remote Falklands island in the 1930s; their descendants kept their genetic diversity through two severe population crashes

15 guanacos were taken to a remote Falklands island in the 1930s; their descendants kept their genetic diversity through two severe population crashes

In the late 1930s, a small group of guanacos, native South American camelids, was shipped from southern Patagonia to Staats Island, a remote, treeless Falklands island. Only fifteen animals founded the entire herd. Roughly twenty-five years later, a cull reduced it from about 300 animals to between 10 and 20. Such a herd would be … Read more

They married before World War II, raised 13 children and built a family of more than 120 descendants: The remarkable story of Brazil’s couple who held the Guinness record for longest-married living pair

They married before World War II, raised 13 children and built a family of more than 120 descendants: The remarkable story of Brazil’s couple who held the Guinness record for longest-married living pair

In February 2025, Guinness World Records recognised them as the ‘longest-married living couple of different sexes,’ When Manoel Angelim Dino first met Maria de Sousa Dino in the 1930s, the two were young people working in agriculture for their respective families in Ceará, Brazil. Their first meeting did not immediately lead to a relationship. They … Read more