Fur

Fur is a defining feature of being a mammal. But bald is beautiful for several mammalian weirdos, including dolphins, mole rats, elephants, and of course, humans. Not to mention a handy adaptation.Yet all our ancestors had plenty of fur. According to a new study on relatively hairless mammals, we still have the means to be hirsute. Those genes, it seems, have simply been switched off.In their hunt through nearly 20,000 coding genes, and 350,000 regulatory ones, compared across 62 different mammal species, University of…

Later this month Image Comics will release Plush #2. The second issue of the six-issue miniseries about serial-killing, cannibalistic furries comes from the creative team of writer Doug Wagner, artist Daniel Hillyard, colorist Rico Renzi, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. Today The Beat is pleased to present an exclusive first look at the issue, which finds our hero, Devin, caught between two groups who want to kill him for very different reasons. Here’s how Image describes Plush #2: Still in his overly ripe fursuit, Devin can…

An artist's impression of the child buried in Majoonsuo during their life. Credit: Tom Bjorklund The exceptional excavation of a Stone Age burial site was carried out in Majoonsuo, situated in the municipality of Outokumpu in Eastern Finland. The excavation produced microscopically small fragments of bird feathers, canine and small mammalian hairs, and plant fibers. …

In 2016, wildlife biologist Clayton Lamb was securing a GPS collar to a tranquilized grizzly bear in southeastern British Columbia when he noticed one of its paws was missing three toes. Weird, he remembers thinking, but not surprising for the rough-and-tumble animals. Then, three more grizzlies popped up sporting similarly mangled paws. Anxious to solve the mystery behind this grisly trend, Lamb and colleagues launched a yearslong investigation. Now, they’re pointing a finger…

Whether your dog's extra pounds have turned into a health hazard or you just keep forgetting to fill the cat food bowl, it's time to invest in an automatic pet feeder to keep them happy and healthy. The best automatic pet feeders help owners and pets keep track of when feeding time occurs as well as how much gets added to their dishes.Automatic pet feeders can make sure that your pet gets the allotted amount of food they're supposed to eat daily. Many of the best automatic pet feeders come with smart features, including…