If you’ve ever had a run-in with goose parents, you know that these birds make for fierce defenders of their babies, which we call goslings. Females typically lay 2-9 eggs, and to boost survival rates, both parents defend the nest during incubation. They become even more aggressive later in the spring as hatching time approaches….
Field Notes: Stepping Over a Cliff’s Edge
When I park the ATV at the top of a hill and the drone of the engine cuts out, a hush settles over the foothills. Removing my thick helmet, I can finally hear the fluting of distant meadowlarks. To my west rises a long, wide ridge of granite cliffs. I’ve been scanning this ridge on…
Sunday Sketch: What Makes Cats and Bears Formidable Hunters?
Domestic cats and bears both belong to the order Carnivora. Bears have an incredible sense of smell — for instance, black bears may be able to detect scents from 1 to 2 miles away. This powerful ability helps them locate food across great distances. Cats, can rotate their ears 180 degrees to better detect prey….
Field Frame Friday: Facial recognition in red-fronted lemurs
The red-fronted lemur (Eulemur rufifrons), native to Madagascar, was once a subspecies of the brown lemur but is now considered a species on its own. Like many other lemur species, they are arboreal, meaning that they can often be found in trees, leaping from branch to branch. Their name comes from a unique patch of…
Sci Hero: Dr. Inza Koné
The Ethogram believes that science should be accessible and diverse in order to increase the sense of belonging within the science community. Each month we highlight a “Sci Hero” so the next generation of scientists and naturalists may be inspired.
Sunday Sketch: Japanese raccoon dog
Check out this fun fact about Japanese raccoon dogs!
Field Frame Friday: Learning how to eat like a seal
Harbor seals are the most widely distributed type of pinniped, residing along the shorelines of the Northern hemisphere. Seal pups may find themselves stranded on these coastlines, due to being lost from their mother, or not having enough to eat, and lack the necessary survival skills to go back into the wild successfully. Researchers like…
Field Notes: The Patagonian Mud Fiasco
It was May 2024 and winter in Patagonia came early that year. The truck started to slowly drift sideways, no longer able to grip the once gravelly dirt road that had turned into sticky, squelchy wet clay after only an hour of barely drizzling. We got out and with a shovel or our bare hands scraped…
Sunday Sketch: Maternal Alpacas
The alpaca is a South American camelid, often found grazing the impressive heights like the Andes Mountains. They have become popularized as a livestock animal, being raised for their wool. Baby alpacas, called crias, are dependent on their mother’s milk for several months after birth. Mothers will also perform allonursing, where they nurse the young…
Science and Culture: A Scientific Celebration of Wildly Good Moms
Every May, we celebrate the moms out there with flowers, brunch, and heartfelt cards, but what about the moms out in the wild? The ones raising pups in burrows, ferrying tadpoles on their backs, or literally giving their lives for their young? Turns out, the animal kingdom is full of wildly good moms, each with…
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