Columbian ground squirrels spend about eight months of the year asleep underground, so the four months they’re awake are essentially one long eating contest. Everything they do above ground —…
Harris’s antelope squirrel runs across bare desert ground in full midday sun — 100°F+ and no shade in sight — with its tail curled up over its back like a…
Père David’s deer eats primarily grasses and aquatic plants — but the full picture is more interesting than that. This is a deer that evolved to forage in wetlands, wades…
Table of Contents The Short Answer Tsessebes eat grass — almost exclusively. They’re obligate grazers, and unlike many savanna herbivores that supplement their diet with leaves, fruit, or bark, a…
Table of Contents The poles get lumped together as “frozen wastelands,” but that framing misses everything interesting. The Arctic and Antarctic are ecologically opposite in ways that matter for the…
Table of Contents South Africa has one of the most diverse wildlife rosters on the planet — and not just because of the Big Five, which every safari brochure leads…
Table of Contents The Short Version Tropical rainforests have the highest spider diversity on Earth. Most species there are harmless to humans. A handful can cause serious harm — two…
Table of Contents Monaco is 2.02 square kilometers. It’s the second-smallest country on Earth and one of the most densely populated. Most of its surface is concrete, asphalt, and the…
Table of Contents Why Malaysia Is a Biodiversity Powerhouse Malaysia sits inside Sundaland, one of the world’s most species-rich biodiversity hotspots — a landmass that once connected the Malay Peninsula…