For hundreds of thousands of years, the woolly rhinoceros thrived in this landscape. The climate and human hunting pushed it to extinction

Humans and climate change drove the woolly rhino to extinction

Of the more than 60 species of megafauna that existed during the last ice age, only eight remain and most are in critical danger of disappearing

Miguel Angel Cruado

19 June 2024

It was what the military calls an encircling maneuver. After 2.5 million years thriving throughout Eurasia, the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) retreated further and further east and further and further north, as they fled the unfavorable climate. The species was then finished off by Neanderthals and modern humans. In the end, when the Ice Age had passed and the planet was entering the present era, only a few remained in the extreme northeast of Siberia. They did not make it across the Bering Strait to America; they became extinct earlier. Now, the modeling of that retreat has made it possible to apportion the blame: climatic swings created their deathbed and human hunting put the nail in the coffin. The authors of the new study believe that four of the five remaining rhino species are also on the same highway to extinction. But they have a few ways out left.

Chimpanzees take their own antibiotics

Chimpanzees eat at least a dozen plants for their medicinal, not nutritional, value. In the picture, one of the studied chimpanzees eats fruits of 'F. exasperate.'ELODIE FREYMANN

Chimpanzees take their own antibiotics

Chemical analysis of several plants ingested only in specific instances show that they inhibit the development of pathogenic strains of bacteria such as ‘E. coli’

Miguel Ángel Criado21 June 2024

A few weeks ago, it was learned that researchers had seen an orangutan applying a poultice with leaves from a medicinal plant to a serious wound on its face. Now, thousands of miles away, on another continent, it has been revealed that another great ape — the chimpanzee — uses a range of plants, from leaves to tree bark, to treat its ailments. The analysis of these plants, some commonly found in traditional medicine, has shown that most have antimicrobial properties, while a third have anti-inflammatory properties. The authors of the work believe that great apes may one day help humans discover new drugs.

Elephants address one another with name-like calls

 

An elephant with two calves in Kenya.GEORGE WITTEMYER

Elephants address one another with name-like calls

New research has shown that the species use individual vocalizations to call specific members of the herd, which go beyond mere imitations of the addressee

MIGUEL ÁNGEL CRIADO

JUN 10, 2024 - 11:31 COT

Elephants don’t just trumpet. That sharp sound, like that of a trumpet, could be compared to a human’s cry to alert or warn others. But elephants also emit a range of low-frequency harmonic sounds, such as murmurs, that are specific to each animal. Now, assisted by an artificial intelligence system, a group of researchers has demonstrated that elephants use specific sounds to call each member, as if they were calling them by name.