Scientists tracked 21 oilbirds in Venezuela, and five disappeared from their cave for up to 73 days to stay closer to food

Scientists tracked 21 oilbirds in Venezuela, and five disappeared from their cave for up to 73 days to stay closer to food

PC: Alastair Rae/ Wikipedia Oilbirds spend their nights flying through tropical forests in search of fruit, but some of them take an unexpected approach to reach their feeding grounds. Some birds regularly returned to the same main cave after feeding. Others made long-distance trips but returned to the cave within three days. A third group … Read more

In 2012, Tasmania moved 15 devils to Maria Island to protect the species from facial-tumour disease; after 28 were released by 2013, a 3,000-pair penguin colony disappeared

In 2012, Tasmania moved 15 devils to Maria Island to protect the species from facial-tumour disease; after 28 were released by 2013, a 3,000-pair penguin colony disappeared

The facial tumour had severely affected devil populations in many parts of Tasmania In 2012, 28 Tasmanian devils were brought to Maria Island off Tasmania’s east coast as an “insurance population” when facial tumour disease was severely affecting the species. The devils have since thrived, with their numbers reaching up to 90. But their success … Read more

In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

Acropora muricata, Heron Island, Australia. (Photo Credit: Claire Lager, Smithsonian) A rare coral species found nowhere else on Earth except Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii has been successfully returned to its natural habitat after completely disappearing from the wild. The recovery project was led by the Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery, a facility run by the state … Read more

A 240-million-year-old fossil disappeared for 20 years, then its rediscovery revealed a new reptile related to dinosaurs and crocodiles

A 240-million-year-old fossil disappeared for 20 years, then its rediscovery revealed a new reptile related to dinosaurs and crocodiles

A fossil found in southern Brazil is giving researchers a closer look at the reptiles that lived near the beginning of the archosaur lineage, the group that would eventually include dinosaurs and crocodile-line animals. The animal has been named ‘Silescelida acristata’ and is identified as an early-diverging eucrocopodan archosauriform from the Middle Triassic. A recent … Read more

Who is Colby Meck? Mom searching for son who disappeared from Montclair, California

Who is Colby Meck? Mom searching for son who disappeared from Montclair, California (Kala Cartmill/Facebook)

A mother is searching for her son, who went missing from Montclair Mall in Montclair, California. She said in a Facebook post that Colby Meck has been reported as a runaway by Montclair police. Who is Colby Meck? Mom searching for son who disappeared from Montclair, California (Kala Cartmill/Facebook) Who is Colby Meck? Meck’s mother, … Read more

A 55-year-old Missouri official reached the 13,804-foot summit of Wyoming’s highest mountain and signed its register; he then disappeared for 5 days before rescuers found him alive and severely dehydrated

A 55-year-old Missouri official reached the 13,804-foot summit of Wyoming's highest mountain and signed its register; he then disappeared for 5 days before rescuers found him alive and severely dehydrated

A 55-year-old Missouri official reached the 13,804-foot summit of Wyoming’s highest mountain and signed its register 55-year-old Missouri deputy attorney general who had been missing in Wyoming’s rugged Wind River Range for five days has been rescued alive, shortly after search crews confirmed that he had reached the 13,804-foot summit of Gannett Peak. Shaun Mackelprang … Read more

Scientists searched for threatened Australian rainforest frogs without seeing or hearing them; DNA in creek water collected up to 22 km downstream revealed populations in places where the frogs had disappeared

Scientists searched for threatened Australian rainforest frogs without seeing or hearing them; DNA in creek water collected up to 22 km downstream revealed populations in places where the frogs had disappeared

​Photos of a study species: the Australian Lace-lid (L. dayi)Photo credit: Conrad J Hoskin. In the cool, wet upland streams of Queensland’s Wet Tropics, several species of rainforest frog were pushed to the brink in the 1980s and 1990s by chytrid fungus, an aquatic pathogen that attacks frog skin and has driven extinctions worldwide. For … Read more