Animals

The Persian leopard named after the NBA star arrives at the Safari

A Persian leopard named Deni, after Deni Avdija, arrived at the Ramat Gan Safari to mate with Noa as part of a European breeding program.

Deni, the new Persian leopard at Ramat Gan Safari.
German shepherd barking (illustrative)

Using babies, Israeli study reveals why AI fails to truly understand animal calls

Dr. Galia Melman Shalev will receive the World Small Animal Veterinary Association's 2026 Animal Welfare Award for her efforts to rescue and treat hundreds of pets following the October 7 massacre.

Negev Vet clinics founder Dr. Galia Melman Shalev to receive award for Oct. 7 animal rescue efforts

A Leopardus tilcayo cat, a newly identified species through research led by National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales Ascarrunz, walks at the Senda Verde animal refuge in the Yungas region, Bolivia, September 1, 2026.

Mysterious Bolivian 'weird cat' recognized as new species, marking first discovered in over century


Sharks, pigeons may have something in common - the electric sensors in their ears - study

The inner ear tissue in pigeons, which contains “cells with highly sensitive electric sensors,” resembles that of sharks, which use it for hunting. 

Parisian psychologist Catherine Hervais holds a pigeon's toeless foot showing the consequence strings can have on the bird on her daily mission to care for the capital's pigeons in front of the Centre Pompidou (aka Beaubourg) in Paris, France, November 4, 2025.

Want a personal trash panda? Raccoons may be evolving for domestication

Beyond evolving features cuter to humans, the mammal has also become less fearful of humans, according to the study.

Raccoon Paul eats at the home of veterinarian Mathilde Laininger in Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2022. She cares for four raccoons that can no longer be released into the wild.

Cuban scientists race against time to save fish as old as the dinosaurs

The garfish - long, slender, its snout filled with sharp teeth- is considered “critically endangered," earning it a spot on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

A dead garfish lies in a marsh near Venice, Louisiana May 20, 2010. For nearly a month, roughly 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) of oil per day have been gushing from BP's broken Deepwater oil well situated in the Gulf of Mexico, in what could be named the worst oil spill in U.S. histo

Scientists discover RNA molecules from a mammoth that went extinct 40,000 years ago

The never-before-seen biological snapshot provides insight into the young mammoth's final moments, expanding our knowledge of creatures that went extinct tens of thousands of years ago.

People in protective suits examine a frozen woolly mammoth from Siberia named "Yuka" during a media preview at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei November 6, 2013.

Oldest RNA recovered from 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth rewrites decay timeline

The RNA extracted from Yuka's muscle tissue is the oldest ever found, twice as old as the previous record from a 14,300-year-old wolf skin, challenging long-held assumptions about RNA's decay rate.

Mamooth.

Israeli scientists pioneer way to monitor sea urchins as die-offs threaten coral reefs worldwide

Sea urchins play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of coral reef ecosystems by feeding on algae that compete with corals for sunlight.

 The sea urchin Diadema setosum before (left) and after (right) mortality. The white skeleton is exposed following tissue disintegration and loss of spines.

Newborn African lion cub rescued from Istanbul smugglers

The cub was discovered after a tip-off on a veterinary clinic holding the cub in the Tuzla district.

Turkish authorities rescued a 35-day-old African lion cub after it was trafficked into Istanbul, the Agricultural and Forestry Ministry confirmed last week.

Rabid dog kept in Haifa kindergarten, multiple children attacked

The dog attacked five children and two adults at the gan, and later attacked a vet.

A boy shows a wound he sustained after a stray dog attacked him, at a rabies clinic in Sanaa, Yemen March 2, 2019. (illustrative)

Before pugs or Great Danes: Doggie diversity in size and shape began at tail end of Ice Age

These findings contradict the notion that such diversity was mainly a relatively new phenomenon driven by selective breeding in recent centuries.

A Pug dog called Harley, and star of the film "Patrick" poses for photographs at the film's premiere in London, Britain June 27, 2018.

India asks UN wildlife body to not curb its animal imports amid Ambani zoo furore

Vantara, a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat state has faced allegations of improper imports of certain animals, triggering higher scrutiny from authorities.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, pose for a photograph after the inauguration of Vantara animal rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, March 4, 2025.