Animals

  A dead shark that washed ashore this week at Beit Yanai beach in Israel has renewed concerns about the health of Israel’s marine ecosystems...

When you experience your first kiss you might feel like you are the first in the world to feel that way. Kissing, scientists say, occurs in a variety of animals (even if today it's not in every culture), and it presents an evolutionary puzzle: kissing, a learned behavior, carries high risks, such as disease transmission like herpes and hepititis, while offering no obvious reproductive or survival advantage.

Beaked whales are among the least understood mammals on Earth. There are 24 known species, most of them rarely seen because they dive deeper and stay underwater longer than any other marine mammal. Many species have only been described from stranded carcasses, and new species continue to be identified, including one as recently as 2021.

When otters become sick or die, entire marine ecosystems begin to unravel. Their contamination is not a side note. It is a warning.

Terrassa is home to more than 9,800 cats, according to municipal data — a population that lives quietly among its 220,000 residents. The temporary ban forces the town, and perhaps the rest of us, to confront a deeper contradiction. How can a culture that loves animals and fills social media with cat memes still tolerate cruelty in the name of tradition or aesthetics?

If we seize this moment, the 2026 review can catalyse a new wave of finance (see Green Finance mechanisms in the UAE), innovation and policy coherence — and move us closer to the vision of a nature-positive world by 2050. If not, the checkpoint risks becoming another missed opportunity while ecosystems, livelihoods and economies continue to degrade.

“Preventing tipping points requires ‘frontloaded’ mitigation pathways that minimise peak global temperature, the duration of the overshoot period above 1.5°C, and the return time below 1.5°C. Sustainable carbon dioxide removal approaches need to be rapidly scaled up to achieve this.”

The luxury resort now under legal challenge on Assomption Island is being developed by Assets Group, a Qatar-based real estate company that advertises the project on its own website as a collection of high-end villas and spa facilities in the Seychelles. According to multiple reports, including Mongabay and The Seychelles Nation, the developer is tied to Qatari investors and has relied on the London-based PC Agency to promote the project internationally. Environmental groups allege that Assets Group’s expansion near the UNESCO-protected Aldabra Atoll risks introducing invasive species and undermining decades of conservation work.

From roadside cages in Armenia to wild encounters in Siberia, brown bears reveal both human cruelty and awe. To truly respect them is to keep them free — not captive, not tamed.

The core technology (PauseM®) is based on inducing a “paused” or “suspended animation” state in Black Soldier Fly (BSF) neonates so that they can survive transportation with extended shelf life before being revived, fed and grown for animal feed. They also have a partnership with Hermetia Baruth GmbH (Germany) for joint production / distribution of PauseM in Europe.

So why should a single locust in Cornwall matter? Because it might be a harbinger of climate change and shifting weather patterns. Warmer, drier extremes and stronger winds can help migratory insects push further north. A recent study links increased locust outbreaks to climate anomalies like heavier rainfall and wind patterns.

It sounds made up—until you read the documents, see the photos, and talk to the people who were there. A new exposé by the National...

From a sustainability standpoint, this study feeds into a growing conversation around how we value marine life and intelligence in environmental policy. If octopuses exhibit this level of sentient processing, how should that affect the way we fish, farm, or conserve them?

The findings open new avenues for exploring how shared perception and outlook may influence mental resilience—and offer insights into the neural underpinnings of emotional health.

Camera traps have captured thirsty jaguars, pumas, snakes, and rare margays stopping in for a drink. Scientists say this glimpse into animal behavior under heat stress is invaluable.