Apex predators

Researchers studying orcas off the coast of South Africa recently observed one of the whales consuming a great white shark alone, in just two minutes.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticSince 2017, two orcas in particular have been wreaking havoc on the great whites off South Africa’s Mossel Bay. Dubbed Port and Starboard (cute!), the apex predators have developed a taste for the massive sharks’ nutrient-rich livers (less cute). Haunting video of the whales actively feeding on a great…

A harrowing story of orcas trapped in an icy prison off the coast of Japan has come to a happy ending. The dozen or so whales were spotted earlier this week near the island of Hokkaido, appearing to be enclosed by ice with no available way to help them. On Wednesday, however, officials reported that the orcas managed to successfully escape their predicament on their own.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticThe tale began Tuesday morning, when a fisherman from the town of Raisu first…

Footage taken off the coast of Santa Barbara has captured something new to science: a living newborn great white shark. The shark’s discovery could help researchers finally learn where white sharks—one of the ocean’s top predators—birth their young.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticThe 5-foot-long pup was photographed by drone in July 2023; it was covered in a thin, whitish film, the major clue that the shark was born recently. It may have had a skin condition, the researchers say, but…

O. megalodon, my megalodon. The gargantuan shark that prowled the Miocene seas has long captured the imagination because of its stupendous 60-foot length—three times the size of the largest great white sharks. But now, a team of researchers suggests that the extinct apex predator’s body shape was slightly different than expected.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticThe enormous O. megalodon went extinct around 3.6 million years ago. Newborn megalodons were 6 feet long and may have had an…

A team of paleontologists revealed a remarkable fossil: a young tyrannosaurid with the hindlimbs of two year-old dinosaurs in its stomach. In other words, this theropod was chowing down on baby legs.Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedThe fossil is the first example of in-situ stomach contents in a tyrannosaur, the team said. Besides offering a unique window into the macabre reality of life in the Cretaceous Period, the fossil provides insights into the predation strategy of some of the most…

Sharks are often imagined as lethal predators with rows of razor-sharp teeth and capable of zipping through the water at high speeds. But it seems in the case of the famous prehistoric shark Otodus megalodon, only one of those premises holds true.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticIn a study published in Historical Biology, a team of researchers describe very small O. megalodon scales found in Japan. These sand-grain-sized placoid scales, or denticles, show up in elasmobranchs, a group…

Orcas in the Pacific Northwest are battling some kind of unknown skin disease, new research out this week suggests. The study found photographic evidence that these orcas have been developing more and more mysterious lesions over the years. It’s not clear yet how harmful this trend may be, but it’s the latest potential threat to the already endangered population in the area.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the ArcticOrcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, are found throughout the…

New strategies to save boats from the orca uprising are in the works. Portuguese officials plan to test devices that could deter so-called killer whales from taking down ships with sound, according to a report from Lusa News Agency, Portugal’s largest news outlet. Trial runs of the tech could begin over the next few months or even sooner.Forget Collars—There's a Kinder Way to Track Polar Bears in the Arctic“Some lines of development of acoustic deterrents are being developed that will be tested this summer, in order to…

June 15, 2014 photo released by the U.S. Geological Survey, a polar bear dries off after taking a swim in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska.Photo: Brian Battaile/U.S. Geological Survey (AP)A woman and her 1-year-old son were fatally attacked by a polar bear in the small whaling village of Wales, Alaska, last week. A recent lapse in polar bear patrolling in the small West Alaska town may have contributed to the attack, the first fatal mauling by a polar bear in Alaska in 30 years, according to the AP. As bears have less sea ice on…

The body of a humpack whale lies on a beach in Brigantine N.J., after it washed ashore on Friday, January. 13, 2023Photo: Wayne Parry (AP)Several New Jersey environmental groups are defending offshore wind development after seven dead humpback and sperm whales washed up along New York and New Jersey coasts in the past month.Last week, environmental group Clean Ocean Action called for a pause in ocean-floor preparation work for future wind projects. The group and other supporters called on President Joe Biden to…