food

Disturbing patterns emerge in zoo penguins given unlimited food

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Disturbing patterns emerge in zoo penguins given unlimited food

A pampered penguin at the zoo escapes the elements and fishes to his heart’s content, but his carefree lifestyle comes at a price. Newly published research suggests that penguins in zoos age faster than penguins in the wild, biologically speaking, providing a valuable analogy for humans’ Western lifestyles. “A 15-year-old penguin in a zoo has … Read more

Medium-sized carnivores walk a fine line between finding food and finding food

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earth snap

Researchers found that medium-sized carnivores like coyotes in northern Yellowstone National Park completely avoid cougars at all costs, while tracking wolves’ movements and whereabouts. Conversely, other intermediate predators, such as the red fox, often do the opposite. These contrasting strategies demonstrate that the lives of the park’s small predators are a series of species-specific calculations … Read more