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THE 12 MOST INTRIGUING ANIMAL DISCOVERIES OF 2021

Thursday, December 23, 2021

In this newsletter, more research is needed into the spread of COVID among animals; a lion’s secret; Oregon wolf poisonings … and a gold-medal snowboarder who yearns to raise animals.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SAYAKA MITOH

By Rachael Bale, Executive Editor, Animals

Virgin birth in California condors. Sea slugs that chop off their own heads. A 16,700-mile whale migration.

I could work at Nat Geo for decades and still not lose my sense of awe at all the strange and surprising things animals do. Right now, I’m marveling over Douglas Main’s list of the 12 most intriguing animal discoveries of 2021, which—yes—includes virgin birth as well as sea slug self-decapitation and regeneration (pictured above).

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANK GLAW, ZOOLOGISCHE STAATSSAMMLUNG MÜNCHEN

There’s also the new record holder for world’s smallest reptile (pictured above, from northern Madagascar), cockatoos who teach each other a very important urban survival skill, and a certain four-legged creature that digs wells in the middle of deserts.

Intrigued? See what made the list.

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TODAY IN A MINUTE

Oregon wolf poisonings: Wildlife troopers found eight dead wolves this year, killed by poisoning. Now, they’re seeking the public’s help for information leading to a conviction in their killing. Nine environmental groups have contributed to a $36,000 reward, the Statesman Journal in Salem reports.

Snowboarder or equestrian? Chloe Kim took a gold medal on the slopes in the last Winter Olympics and is a favorite at the upcoming games. But she’s been riding horses nearly as long as she’s snowboarded, and her dream, she tells the New York Times, is a ranch with horses, chickens, pigs, donkeys—and parrots. Check out the interview here.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE KIEHART, BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

A call to action: Animal experts alarmed by the spread of COVID-19 among other species are urging more research. “We need to be doing a lot of surveillance in different species and in new variants,” Elizabeth Lennon, a University of Pennsylvania veterinarian, tells Nat Geo’s Natasha Daly. Hundreds of animals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, but with exceptions (snow leopards, mink) the virus is milder than in humans. Most affected species are carnivorans. (Pictured above, lions at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in May. Six of them tested positive for the coronavirus in September.)

ANIMALS WITH COVID

IN A FEW WORDS

QUOTE

“Species extinction is a very difficult thing to witness.” Working to save a species “is not an easy job, but it’s deeply inspiring when you aren’t doing it alone—but with your community.”

Abdullahi Hussein Ali

Wildlife biologist and founder of the Hirola Conservation Program, Nat Geo Explorer

THE LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTIAS KLUM, @MATTIASKLUMOFFICIAL

The mane thing: A stunning lion known as Mmamoriri is treated differently within her own pride and outside it. Wearing what looks like a gorgeous male mane, Mmamoriri actually is a female and is treated as such inside her pride. But outside the family group, she’s seen as a male, which appears to make it easier to fend off hyenas and rival males, says photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Mattias Klum. He took Mmamoriri’s image near Mombo Camp in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve.

Related: Why this lioness suddenly grew a mane

This newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Monica Williams, and Jen Tse. Do you have an idea or a link for the newsletter? Let us know at [email protected]. Happy holidays!

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