The hottest Zoology Substack posts right now

Elephants show deep emotions when they mourn. They have rituals for honoring their dead, like touching the body and covering it with dirt.
Octopuses and cuttlefish are surprisingly smart for invertebrates. Octopuses can solve problems and cuttlefish can count.
Dogs really seem to love their owners more than food. They respond more to praise from people they care about than to treats.

Cat Ba langurs can drink seawater and survive in dry conditions due to their diet and unique adaptations. They mainly get water from the leaves they eat, which helps them thrive on an isolated island.
Humans cannot drink seawater without serious health issues. Consuming saltwater leads to dehydration because our bodies can't remove the excess salt fast enough.
Research suggests that Cat Ba langurs have special genetic traits that allow them to manage salt and calcium better than most mammals. This helps them live in their harsh environment.

Otters are important urban wildlife and their poop, called spraint, can tell us a lot about their diet and health. Researchers study spraint to understand what otters eat and to check for parasites or pollution.
River otters tend to be clean and use specific spots, called latrines, to poop. This behavior might be social, but researchers aren't completely sure why they do it.
Even in polluted areas, river otters are resilient and continue to survive and reproduce. It's important for us to help make urban environments healthier for wildlife.

White-tailed ptarmigan are unique birds that live in cold, high-altitude areas. They change color from brown in summer to white in winter, helping them blend into their snowy environment.
These birds have feathered feet that act like snowshoes, making it easier for them to walk on snow rather than fly. This adaptation helps them conserve energy in their harsh habitat.
Indigenous knowledge about wildlife, like the ptarmigan's snowshoe ability, is being recognized as valuable by scientists. There's so much to learn from traditional understanding of nature.

Mantis shrimp can punch very fast, making them the fastest strikers in the animal world. It's incredible how quickly they can hit their targets.
These shrimp are very protective of their territory and will aggressively defend their space against intruders.
Their powerful punches are so strong that they can even break glass, showing just how strong these small creatures really are.

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Rockfish have a unique way of mating that involves a dance and internal fertilization, which leads to them producing many offspring. Some can even reproduce at over 100 years old!
Geoducks are known for their impressive reproductive abilities, releasing millions of eggs after males eject sperm into the water. They can produce these for over a century as well.
Olympia oysters are hermaphrodites, starting life as males and switching between genders based on their environment. This means they have a different way of reproducing compared to other sea creatures.

Herring spawning events are vital to Puget Sound's ecosystem and attract a variety of wildlife. These events help connect the food chain and support many animals, both sea life and birds.
Each female herring can lay a huge number of eggs, which provide food for young fish and other creatures. This means herring play a crucial role in nourishing the local food web.
Herring are not only important for marine life but also for Indigenous communities. They have been a key food source for these communities historically and continue to be significant today.

The slug _Arion rufus_ is often seen as a garden pest today, but it was once considered an intriguing species. In the past, scientists like Tracey Storer appreciated its uniqueness and collected it for study.
This slug was first spotted in Detroit in 1912 and has since spread to other areas like Seattle, where it has become a common problem for gardeners.
Despite being viewed negatively, slugs have interesting adaptations, such as their ability to cover themselves in slime for protection. Some people are even starting to be kinder to them instead of killing them outright.