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Defector

Animals

Creaturefector

Science


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

a tiny gall midge pollinating a tiny orchid

The Secret Life Of A Tiny Flower

a snakefly on a plant (Dichrostigma flavipes on Corylus avellana)

It’s Time For God’s Ugliest Little Bugs To Be Represented In The Beautiful Tradition Of Haiku

Two coral snakes in a tug-of-war over a worm lizard called a caecilian

Point/Counterpoint: That’s My Lunch!

a light pink blind cave salamander called an olm swimming in the water in front of rocks

Coming Out Of My Cave, And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine, Slurping These Worms Down

A fossilized piece of amber preserving two termites in the act of mating

If Romeo And Juliet Were Ancient Termites They Wood Look Like This

A Brunneria borealis mantid hanging upside down from a twig of wheat (is that how you say it)

She’s Literally Mother

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

A beekeper works to clear bees from Centre Court which led to the temporary suspension of the match between Germany's Alexander Zverev and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in their ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters men's quarterfinal tennis match at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, on March 14, 2024.

Tennis

An Interview With The Bee Hero Who Humanely Vacuumed Thousands Of Bees Out Of A Tennis Stadium

A saltwater fish called a cero looking concerned

This Parasite Has Become A Full-Time Booger

a deep-sea Malacosarcus sp., or prickelfish. Seen at a depth of nearly 5,900 meters (3.7 miles)

The Twilight Chorus That Can Be Heard 18,000 Feet Under The Sea

a Kakapo named Sirocco exhibited at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin, New Zealand

Honey, They Yassified A Kākāpō!

Two adult male humpback whales. one whale has its penis inserted into the genital opening of the whale below it An injury is visible on the mandible of the whale underneath.

Fleeting Joy, Unexpected Despair, And Eventual Peace; Or, The Time I Learned About Two Gay Humpback Whales

An image of Flaco in his chain-link exhibit at the Central Park Zoo

Birdfector

What Do We Owe Zoo Animals?

a female ant-mimicking spider Myrmarachne formicaria

Everybody Wants To Be An Ant

A horrible AI-generated image of a rat with an enormous cock and balls

The Brief And Wondrous Life Of The AI Giant-Penised Rat, Explained

A round stingray (Urolophus halleri) I photographed in shallow water at Bolsa Chica wetlands (Southern California). The clouds of sand around the eyes and and body were formed as the stingray flapped and positioned deeper in the sand, expelling water. You can see the spiracles behind the eyes.

Charlotte The Ray Did NOT Have Sex With A Shark, So Stop Asking!

Barry Petchesky

opossum, Red-Tailed Hawk, Raccoon (Photo by Dick Loek/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

This Is So Stupid

Critter Or Varmint?

A little yellow frog with a tiny white mushroom sprouting out of its side

Mushroom Growing On A Frog? Now That’s A Toadstool

The Little Fish With A Mouth That Defies All Logic

a photo of a lobster named Currant, a split blue lobster

Meet The Eight Celebrity Lobsters Of Biddeford, Maine

a sea otter eating a crab in Monterey Bay

Hungry Sea Otters Can Change The World

Shark Is Maybe Baby

An African grey parrot looking at the camera

Let The British Parrots Say “Fuck”

An illustration of two dung beetles rolling a ball of dung

Dung Beetle Study Suggests That Sisyphus Would Have Appreciated A Buddy

a stuffed specimen of a swamp antechinus, which is a small brown marsupial, against a green background

The Sex Fest Keeps Getting Worse and Worse

A beautiful Streaked Shearwater in flight seen in the sea of Toshima.