Forest researchers in north-central Minnesota are bringing the little-analyzed world of an elusive night creature into the light.

There is a dearth of state research about flying squirrels, a diminutive, rarely seen critter with outsized skills. Minnesota has two species of the little aerialists, a southern and a northern, and where they meet ...Read more

Southern right whales can live to be more than 130 years old — which is decades longer than previously thought, according to new research.

The marine animals, a type of baleen whale found in the southern hemisphere, have the gift of “extreme longevity,” according to a study published on Dec. 20 in the journal Science Advances and an ...Read more

A hunter took trophy photos with a mountain lion he shot in Missouri, but was then cited for killing the protected cat, officials said.

While hunting in Iron County on Nov. 16, the man saw a mountain lion pass under a tree stand he was on, according to court documents.

“He got excited at what it was, stood up, and then decided to shoot (the ...Read more

Three years ago, on Dec. 30, 2021, a wind-driven wildfire raced through two communities just outside Boulder, Colorado. In the span of about eight hours, more than 1,000 homes and businesses burned.

The fire left entire blocks in ash, but among them, pockets of houses survived, seemingly untouched. The owners of these homes may have ...Read more

Landfills in Colorado release millions of metric tons of greenhouse gasses each year as organic waste including food, paper and yard trimmings decomposes into the soil, contributing to global warming and harming human health.

Colorado, as part of its multipronged approach to eliminate 90% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, is ...Read more

BALTIMORE — All around the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mike Hallmen points to evidence that change is afoot.

Water-filled chambers that were once clogged with mucky brown sediment or choked by vegetation now run clear. Construction crews repair the concrete wall of a massive circular tank. Below the golden egg-shaped domes of the ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Mendocino-Sonoma county line will officially open early next month.

Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6, which stretch to the U.S.-Mexico border, will open Jan. 5 at 12:01 a.m., with pre-soak beginning Jan. 2 at 8:01 a...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It is now illegal to possess or transport golden mussels in California.

California Fish and Game Commission has designated the golden mussel a restricted species, the latest salvo in the battle to keep the invasive species out of the state’s waterways. The mussels are considered an immediate threat to the ecological ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Driving over the cattle guards that mark the boundaries of the Las Vegas Valley, Southern Nevadans are likely to come across an equine friend or two. Or a herd of them.

Wild horses and burros, considered to be an emblem of the unconquerable American West, have been a permanent fixture of the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert for ...Read more

We named him Squirt – not because he was the smallest of the 16 cuttlefish in the pool, but because anyone with the audacity to scoop him into a separate tank to study him was likely to get soaked. Squirt had notoriously accurate aim.

As a comparative psychologist, I’m used to assaults from my experimental subjects. I’ve been ...Read more

More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the nutritional value of some foods that plant eaters rely on.

Human ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A UC Davis study showed a nutty novel behavior in California squirrels: They're hunting like carnivores, taking down and then consuming other, smaller rodents.

As part of an ongoing 12-year study of California ground squirrels at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, researchers last summer watched as squirrels began to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Environmental groups challenged California’s leading climate regulator Wednesday, alleging in new lawsuits that a recent update to a leading climate program will create additional pollution in the state’s San Joaquin Valley.

Two separate complaints allege the California Air Resources Board did not assess or alleviate ...Read more

As many parents can attest, babies often make telltale noises when they’re hungry. It turns out, newborn whales do the same thing.

Humpback whale calves signal their desire to eat by making barking, burping, begging and snorting sounds, according to a study published on Dec. 18 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological ...Read more

In a novel attempt to enforce a longstanding Minnesota rule protecting wild rice, the EPA is investigating U.S. Steel’s taconite mine, Keetac, for repeatedly releasing a rice-killing pollutant into surface waters.

The mine and tailings site in Keewatin broke sulfate limits set in two wastewater permits 299 times between 2019 and 2022, the EPA...Read more

Years after a wildfire threatened to wipe out a rare, genetically unique species in a tiny Colorado creek, it was found “thriving” in new streams, officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently found evidence of the unique cutthroat trout surviving multiple years and even naturally reproducing in the wild — “a huge milestone in ...Read more

Regardless of how you celebrate end-of-year holidays, food is probably central to your winter festivities. And a trio of spices – cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger – feature in many dishes and drinks and are an unmistakable part of the scent profile we associate with the holiday season.

As a plant scientist, I was curious to know how ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A coalition of environmental groups challenged California’s leading climate regulator Wednesday, alleging that a recent update to a leading climate program will create additional pollution in the state’s San Joaquin Valley.

Their lawsuit filed in Fresno county superior court calls on the California Air Resources Board...Read more

Monarch butterflies are among the most beloved insects in North America. They are brightly colored and unique, both as caterpillars and later as mature insects. Monarchs are found in every U.S. state except Alaska, so nearly everyone has seen a monarch flutter by on a warm day.

During their incredible yearly migration, monarchs travel...Read more