ANIMALS

An alpine newt glows green after being exposed to blue light.

It’s Easy Being Green: Most Amphibians Are Biofluorescent, Study Finds

After being bathed in blue light, salamanders, frogs, and other amphibians glowed a brilliant green. There's more to these critters than meets the eye.

You’ll Be Able to Buy Some of Fiona the Hippo’s Poop to Fertilize Your Garden

As part of its zero-waste initiative, the Cincinnati Zoo is turning all the poop produced by its animals into fertilizer—including Fiona the hippo.

Lundy, the Chihuahua, and his pigeon friend, Herman.

The Disabled Chihuahua Puppy Who Befriended a Flightless Pigeon Now Has a Tiny Wheelchair

A New York animal shelter was gifted a tiny dog wheelchair after it posted about an adorable animal friendship on Facebook.

Fat Bats Might Be Resistant to Deadly White-Nose Syndrome

Good news: chubby little brown bats might be genetically resistant to white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that’s killed more than 5.5 million bats since it was first documented in 2006.

A curious sloth says hello after members of the Jaguar Rescue Center reunited her with her baby.

5 Ways You Can Help the Jaguar Rescue Center Save Costa Rica’s Wildlife

This Costa Rica animal rescue center houses every kind of animal, from spider monkeys to sea turtles.

YouTube Star Coyote Peterson Brings 'Misunderstood' Animals to His New Animal Planet Series

Coyote Peterson gives Mental Floss the scoop on his new Animal Planet series, 'Brave the Wild'—and reveals how snapping turtles figure into the story.

Seeing Eye instructors with the dogs they are training.

10 Secrets of Seeing Eye Dog Trainers

We spoke with trainers from The Seeing Eye about why certain breeds make great guide dogs, how they keep their owner’s safe from low-hanging branches, and whether they can read cross signals.

Tennessee Shelter Will Surprise Your Sweetheart With a Valentine’s Day Puppy Visit

Forget flowers and chocolate—cuddling a rescue puppy will make this the best Valentine’s Day of all time.

Calling All Crocodile Hunters: You Could Get a Reward for Removing the Tire Stuck to an Indonesian Crocodile’s Head

Past rescue attempts, including one by famous animal whisperer “Panji the Adventurer,” have all failed.

South Carolina Farm Needs Volunteers to Cuddle With Pigs and Feed Them Cookies

Before the rescue animals can be adopted, they need your help learning how to be the best pet pigs they can be.

Cuddle Club Is The Best Thing To Happen To Senior Dogs—And Senior Humans

Older dogs in shelters sometimes get overlooked because of their age status, but the San Francisco-based Muttville has changed the stigma.

England Zoo Needs Leftover Bottles of Calvin Klein's Obsession for Its Big Cats

Big cats like lions, tigers, and leopards go nuts for Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men, and now a UK zoo is calling for donations of the cologne.

Tatiana Adrianova/iStock via Getty Images

What Happens to Mosquitoes in the Winter?

These nuisance creatures have a system for braving the cold so they can emerge in the spring and get back to the business of slurping up your blood.

Kansas Man Digs Into Couch Cushions Looking for His Keys, Finds 6-Foot Boa Constrictor Instead

It’s unclear whether or not the man ever found his lost keys, or if perhaps the boa constrictor found them first.

Deefaze, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Félicette, the First Cat in Space, Finally Has a Proper Memorial in Strasbourg, France

Six decades after Félicette became the first cat to travel to space and the only cat to return alive, the history-making feline has received her own memorial.

Therapy Puppy Provides Comfort to Grieving Families at North Carolina Funeral Home

Macon Funeral Home in North Carolina hopes Mochi the Bernese mountain dog will offer grieving families the comfort they need.

One of the World’s Most Dangerous Spiders Could Invade Homes after Australia's Recent Rainfall

The venom of the Sydney funnel web spider can kill in as little as 15 minutes. And they might be lurking in Australian residents' shoes or laundry.

Perdita, the ‘World’s Worst Cat,’ Is Looking for Her Forever Home

The Mitchell County Animal Rescue says Perdita the cat is "not for the faint of heart," so they're waiving all adoption fees.

It’s Raining Iguanas In South Florida

As temperatures approached freezing in South Florida, the National Weather Service in Miami warned of stunned iguanas falling out of trees.

A Monkey Is On the Loose in Galveston, Texas—For the Second Time

Galveston residents should keep an eye out for Lilly, an illegal pet capuchin monkey who escaped on January 20.

Tetiana Garkusha/iStock via Getty Images

The Reason Dogs Twitch in Their Sleep

Dogs dream during the REM cycle of sleep just like humans do, and the results can be quite adorable.

Not-So-Fancy Feast: Your Cat Probably Would Eat Your Rotting Corpse

The idea of cats devouring their dead owners is no urban legend. A new paper documented these savage creatures dining out on human flesh.

Wolf Puppies Play Fetch, Too, Study Finds

Some wolf puppies will retrieve balls for perfect strangers, suggesting that the species may be genetically predisposed toward the adorable behavior.

Good Moos: Science Says Cows Have Unique Voices

Bovine vocalization isn't just random bleating. New research suggests that cows can be identified by their individual moos.

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