Mammals

The discovery of panda fossils in China has helped researchers solve the mystery of how the giant species developed a "false thumb" and became the only dedicated vegetarian in the bear family.

Fossils dating back about six million years found in southwest China's Yunnan province included a greatly enlarged wrist bone called a radial sesamoid.

Endangered Anatolian mountain sheep, released to nature within the scope an ecological project in the central Anatolian province of Kırşehir, have successfully adapted to natural life, giving the authorities hope for new environmental projects for endangered species.

Miners in the Klondike gold fields of Canada's far north have made a rare discovery, digging up the mummified remains of a near complete baby woolly mammoth.

Members of the local Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation named the calf Nun cho ga, which means "big baby animal."    

An Asiatic cheetah gave birth to three "healthy" cubs in Iran, the head of the environment department said on May 1, calling it a first in captivity for the endangered species.

"Iran," one of only a dozen cheetahs found in the Islamic republic, delivered three "healthy" cubs by C-section, Ali Salajegheh told IRNA news agency.

Istanbul gendarmerie units have carried out an operation on a farm in the Silivri district upon notifications that a foreign national was feeding predators and found a 4-month-old white tiger and an 8-month-old Rhesus monkey.

Security units determined that the animals which were kept in cages were illegally brought into Turkey from India.

Spain's Civil Guard says it is investigating a businessman in the eastern Valencia region who owned a private taxidermy collection with more than 1,000 stuffed animals, including just over 400 from protected species and at least one specimen of a North African oryx, already extinct.

The second of five whales brought from Canada to Connecticut's Mystic Aquarium last year for research purposes has died.

The aquarium announced on its website that the female had been receiving intensive care for the past several months for multiple health issues but died early Feb. 11 morning. A necropsy was to be performed to determine the cause of death.

Rhino poaching in South Africa was 15 percent higher in 2021 than the preceding year as coronavirus restrictions that limited movement were eased, official figures showed on Feb. 8.

A total of 451 animals were killed in 2021, which is still 24 percent lower than the pre-pandemic year 2019, the country's environment department reported.

In Australia, the number of kangaroos living there is twice that of humans

An elephant in Kenya has given birth to twins, an extremely rare event, conservationists said on Jan. 20.

Conservation group Save the Elephants said the twins -- one male and one female -- were born to a mother named Bora.

They were first spotted by lucky tourist guides on a safari drive at the weekend in Samburu reserve in northern Kenya.