predators

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'Adorable, Fluffy' Predator Is Decimating a Habitat's Invaders

Surging population of native sea otters has almost wiped out invasive green crabs in one California ecosystem

(Newser) - The West Coast has been plagued by an invasive crab species for decades—but scientists now say a native resident is helping to remedy the issue, at least in one California ecosystem. That helper is an "adorable, fluffy, and hungry friend," per USA Today —the resident southern...

This Falcon May Nab Kills 10K Feet Up
This Falcon May Make
Kills 10K Feet Up
NEW STUDY
Oct 25, 2024 8:32 AM CDT

This Falcon May Make Kills 10K Feet Up

Peregrine falcon suspected to have taken out GPS-tracked grey plover at 9,455 feet

(Newser) - Peregrine falcons are incredible hunters, known to ambush prey at speed or drop down on them from above. In direct pursuit, the raptor can reach speeds of up to 69mph. In a hunting stoop or dive, it can reach speeds up to 200mph. It can also, apparently, hunt at 10,...

At 15, He Became an 'Evil' Online Predator
At 15, He Became an
Infamous Online Predator
LONGFORM
Sep 15, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

At 15, He Became an Infamous Online Predator

The Washington Post unravels how a bullied teen became Discord's most alarming groomer

(Newser) - The group known as 764 is infamous for some of the most depraved online harassment targeting children. On apps such as Discord, where moderation is easily skirted, predators groom minors until they obtain collateral, like nude photos, from them. They then threaten to distribute this collateral unless the children livestream...

Scientists Were Tracking a Shark. Then the Data Got Weird
Scientists Were Tracking
a Shark. Then It Got Eaten
in case you missed it
Sep 8, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Scientists Were Tracking a Shark. Then It Got Eaten

They say they have first evidence of predator eating a porbeagle shark

(Newser) - Researchers captured and tagged a pregnant porbeagle shark near Cape Cod in October 2020. The 7-foot shark had two trackers attached: one was a geolocator; the other was a pop-off satellite archival tag (PSAT) that relayed info about water temperature and depth. As the scientists write in a paper published...

Uproar After Hunter Allegedly Takes Wolf Into Bar, Kills It

Wildlife officials' interpretation of law makes torture of predator species legal, activists warn

(Newser) - A man and a wolf walk into a bar. It isn't a joke, though some argue the consequences for the man who allegedly paraded the yearling wolf in front of bar patrons before killing it behind the building are indeed laughable. Wyoming hunter Cody Roberts allegedly chased down the...

Horrifying Predator Groups Target Kids on Popular Apps
Horrifying Predator Groups
Target Kids on Popular Apps
investigation
Mar 17, 2024 8:59 AM CDT

Horrifying Predator Groups Target Kids on Popular Apps

After grooming and coercing minors, members force them to livestream self-harm

(Newser) - This isn't an easy story to stomach, so read with caution. Reporters from the Washington Post , Wired , Germany's Der Spiegel, and Romania's Recorder worked together to uncover the dark underworld of a new type of predator group targeting children on the web. And while online abusers are...

Fearless Schoolkids Catch, Kill 600 Rats

They want to help rid their New Zealand island of the bird-killing predators

(Newser) - A grinning girl holding the tail of a sizable dangling rat: It's photo evidence of an unusual competition at a New Zealand school, where students hunted down and took out rats in a 100-day effort to help safeguard the local bird population. The local Environment Trust gave traps made...

Report Makes Disturbing Find on Grizzly Attack

Leah Lokan died instantly of broken neck, severed spine in rare predatory attack

(Newser) - A woman fatally mauled in Montana last summer was the victim of a rare predatory attack by a grizzly bear that had learned to seek out human food, according to a new report. Leah Davis Lokan of Chico, Calif., was participating in a long-distance bike trip when she stopped to...

Cows With 'Butt Eyes' Ward Off Deadly Attacks
Experts Paint Eyes on
Cow Butts—and It Works
in case you missed it
Aug 15, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Experts Paint Eyes on Cow Butts—and It Works

Researchers find a low-cost way to save cattle in Botswana

(Newser) - Want to save cattle from predatory attacks? First, paint eyeballs on their butts. Then see what happens. That's pretty much the gist of a new study out of Botswana—and it worked, Happy Mag reports. Researchers at the University of South Wales painted the eyes on cow butts to...

When These Dogs Sneeze, They're Casting a Vote
When These Dogs Sneeze,
They're Casting a Vote
study says
Sep 9, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

When These Dogs Sneeze, They're Casting a Vote

Scientists spot the pattern in African wild dogs

(Newser) - It started with a simple enough question, "Why are these dogs sneezing so much?" But the subsequent research has led to a fascinating theory: The dogs, specifically African wild dogs in Botswana, use their sneezes to vote on pack activity, reports Atlas Obscura . "The sneeze acts as some...

Which Animal Is the 'Superpredator'? We Are

The rate at which humans kill animals is not sustainable, study finds

(Newser) - For tens of thousands of years, where humans go, animals are driven to extinction. We are the superpredator, killing animals—and adults ones at that—at a much higher rate than other predators. And it's not sustainable. So say researchers at the University of Victoria in the journal Science...

In Cats vs. Dogs, History Answers
 In Cats vs. Dogs, 
 History Answers 
NEW STUDY
Aug 18, 2015 7:18 AM CDT

In Cats vs. Dogs, History Answers

Cats are responsible for the extinction of 40 early canine species

(Newser) - It's official: Cats are better than dogs. Better predators, that is. So say researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences after looking at more than 2,000 fossils of prehistoric cats and dogs in North America. It turns out that when cats arrived on the continent...

Note to Pythons: Maybe Pass on the Giant Porcupines

South African snake's snack turns out to be a fatal idea

(Newser) - Anyone traumatized by the 2005 report of the exploding python might have imagined this wasn't the best idea ever conceived by a predator: A cyclist in South Africa's Lake Eland Game Preserve earlier this month came upon a nearly 13-foot python who looked about as stuffed as your...

Californians Can't Win Cash for Killing Coyotes Anymore

Fish and Game Commision nixes predator-killing contests

(Newser) - Dogfighting and cockfighting are illegal in the US , but until Wednesday, coyotes could be shot dead for a belt buckle in California. Animal activists are celebrating the ruling by the California Fish and Game Commission against wildlife-killing contests that offer prizes, said to be the first such ban in...

6th-Grader's Fish Project Blows Away Scientists

She says experts were making a silly assumption

(Newser) - Sometimes it takes a kid to truly think outside the box. Such is the case of 12-year-old science fair entrant Lauren Arrington, who decided to investigate lionfish, which the Florida native had observed up close while snorkeling and fishing in the ocean. "Scientists were doing plenty of tests on...

Sneaky Seahorse Creates Own No-Wake Zone

Ingenious snout makes it one of the deep's most lethal hunters, relatively speaking

(Newser) - The seahorse is one of the lousiest, slowest swimmers in the ocean, and yet it manages to catch one of the fastest-swimming creatures of the deep with an astonishing success rate of 90%, reports the BBC . What gives? Thank that ingenious snout. Researchers discovered that it's shaped in such...

Kids' Gator Pal Goes Missing
 Kids' Gator Pal 
 Goes Missing 
May 11, 2010 11:56 AM CDT

Kids' Gator Pal Goes Missing

Florida cops warn against feeding 'alpha predators'

(Newser) - A 10-foot alligator is on the loose in North Miami Beach, which sounds bad enough—but it turns out local kids have been feeding the beast meat. They named the storm-drain resident Patrick and treated him to hot dogs and ham, which is a seriously bad idea, a police sergeant...

Monster Squid Turns Out to Be Lazy Blob

Legendary predator just waits for prey to swim by

(Newser) - Ferocious sea creature? Fuggeddaboutit. It may be longer than a school bus and have razor-sharp hooks, but the colossal squid is no monster, reports LiveScience . New research suggests that just the opposite is true: "Everyone thought it was an aggressive predator," one scientist says. "Our findings show...

Obama Mulls Sending Drones Farther Into Pakistan

Strikes in city of Quetta would risk more civilian casualties

(Newser) - The Obama administration is considering using Predator drones for the first time to strike beyond the tribal area inside Pakistan. While many are uncomfortable with the idea of unmanned aircraft firing missiles into the city of Quetta—a Taliban hotbed of 850,000 people—in a US-allied nation, some American...

'Ballerina-Like' T. Rex Cousin Discovered

Size, light skeleton and delicate teeth suggest different prey from larger relative

(Newser) - A smaller, more agile cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex has been identified. The skull and a nearly complete skeleton of Alioramus altai was discovered in Mongolia in 2001, and has features that distinguish it from its more lumbering cousin. Unlike its “big bad boy” relatives, a study author tells...

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