Lives of others

Wildlife is more of an academic concern except when the charismatic tiger is wiped out from a protected forest or our favourite fish vanishes …

These giant ‘drop bears’ with opposable thumbs once scaled trees in Australia. But how did they grow so huge?

Scientists look into skeletons of huge tree-dwelling herbivorous marsupials, known as Nimbadon

Bringing woolly mammoths back from extinction might not be such a bad idea — ethicists explain

Mammoth-like creatures could help restore this ecosystem by trampling shrubs, knocking over trees, and fertilising grasses with their faeces

Extinct but not gone — the thylacine continues to fascinate us

Aboriginal peoples hold intergenerational knowledge of thylacines, 3,000 years after their extinction on mainland Australia

Why the cheetah may never come back to India?

The year India became independent it also lost all its cheetahs. In 1947, India's last two Asiatic Cheetahs were shot dead in erstwhile princely …

Eight hearts do the work of one

US scientists postulate the Barosaurus needed more than one heart to pump blood throughout its 15-metre height

Splash!

It was huge. And it was heading straight for Earth. Astronomers said the end was here. Frantic revisions of their calculations later showed that …

New facts unearthed about impact of Polynesian settlement on New Zealand’s fauna

Researchers found evidence of 14 species of native animals that are extinct now by analysing DNA from fossils

Tales in stone

Palaeontologists have found what they had been looking for: a near-perfect dinosaur fossil from the Jurassic Age. They might finally be able to …

Unique birds are at a higher risk of going extinct, finds study

Threat of extinction can have severe consequences on ecosystem functioning 

This Hawaiian tree snail is the first extinction of 2019

George, of the species Achatinella apexfulva, died on New Year’s Day, 2019

Russia to bring woolly mammoths back from the dead

The government of a remote region in Siberia is planning to build a “Jurassic Park” where cloned woolly mammoth, cave lions and other …

One in eight bird species in the world faces extinction: study

A study on the state of birds globally says agricultural expansion and deforestation are one of the major reasons for this

What if the Lazarus returns

We may never be able to bring extinct species back to life. Yet, scientists are drawing up secret plans for their resurrection

Ancient giraffe relative was the largest cud-chewing mammal on Earth

With an estimated adult body mass of almost 1,250 kg, this relative of modern ruminants lived in the Himalayan foothills more than one million …

One in three species threatened with extinction, action needed, says study

Growing conservation investments and efforts could put off the risk of extinction for one in three species that can be threatened or extinct by 2100

The jury is still out on the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth

There are several ethical concerns in bringing an extinct species back to life, some scientists have said about the woolly mammoth; others …

Irrawaddy dolphin on brink of extinction in Myanmar

Despite their deep bond with local fishermen, the aquatic animal may go extinct in the region due to illegal activities

Ungulate thought to be extinct re-discovered in Vietnam

The silver-backed chevrotain is neither a rodent nor a cervid but is, in fact, the world's smallest hoofed animal

How did elephants evolve such a large brain? Climate change is part of the answer

The evolutionary history of elephants is interesting. It parallels humans’ in many ways

Death metal: how nickel played a role in the world's worst mass extinction

A new study unravels evidence of a link between the genesis of nickel and the onset of the Great Dying some 250 million years ago

Radical overhaul needed to halt earth’s sixth great extinction event

Changes in climate could have contributed, but humans with their hunting and fires were almost certainly the death knell for many of these species

Volcanic rocks in Deccan pinned down to a comet

A model to explain the formation of a vast stretch of volcanic rocks near Bombay may even explain the extinction of dinosaures

Barren continent

After the destruction of Europe's conifers, it took millions of years for the regeneration of forests

Charred to extinction

Methane reserves set the air ablaze and roasted alive several species, including the dinosaurs