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Defector

Animals

Creaturefector

Science

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


Sabrina Imbler

Life reconstruction of Ninumbeehan dookoodukah in a palaeoenvironment reconstruction depicting its life and burrowing across seasons. (a) Ninumbeehan is resting on the edge of a river with a low water table as the wet season ends. (b) A small community of Ninumbeehan are in their estivation burrows at the apex of the arid season. (c) The onset of the humid season brings rain, triggering a mass emergence of Ninumbeehan from their estivation burrows.

How A Sleepy Ancient Amphibian Became A Link To An Endangered Language

An Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) licks nectar from the Ethiopian red hot poker flower (Kniphofia foliosa). the wolf is really into it

These Beautiful Wolves Are Freaks For Nectar

a profile shot of a mummified saber-tooth kitten, which looks like a big brown cat

This Saber-Toothed Kitten Mummy Is So Stinking Cute That I’m Gonna Cry!

a pygmy seahorse that is red and pink with little bumps on its body hides in a coral that looks exactly like it

A Small And Beautiful Seahorse Reveals An Even Smaller And Reclusive Worm

a mossy stick insect of the species Trychopeplus mashpiensis dangling from some moss

Mossy Stick Insect STUNS In New Photos

Two elephants interacting with a water hose. one is attempting to shower with it and the other is gripping it tightly in her trunk

The Shower Beef Between Elephant Mary And Elephant Anchali, Explained

Creature Drops: A Big Baby From Patagonia

An African giant pouched rat in a little red vest, yellow collar, and little silver bell sits on a person's lap

How Ivory The Contraband-Sniffing Giant African Pouched Rat Gets It Done

a giant red-eyed tree frog sculpture at the rainforest cafe

Life's Rich Pageant

Who Lives At The Rainforest Cafe?

a small shelled cephalopod known as a paper nautilus or an argonaut drifting in the dark ocean on a little yellow piece of litter

The Argonaut Octopus Has Mastered The Free Ride

A gelatinous organism called a ctenophore with two rear ends

When Two Rear Ends Are Better Than One

one male yellow desert locust sitting on top of a brown female desert locust

Get Yourself A Mate Who Will Be Your Sex Umbrella

an adult Taiwanese tree frog inside a bamboo chute

Have You Considered Just Not Pooping?

a red fish called a sea robin, which has big fins and six stick-like "legs" that it uses to walk on the seafloor

This Fish Has A Leg Up On The Competition

Moo Deng, a two-month-old female pygmy hippo who has recently become a viral internet sensation, reacts to a zookeeper at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Tiny Hippo Went Extinct Because It Was Not As Cute As Moo Deng, Probably

three photos of subadult male northern elephant seals, one named Brian, one named Dennis, and one named Carl

The Gang’s All Here!

a close-up of a green skink with its tongue out

Skink Outside The Box

two small brown hexapods called globular springtails jump. off a white surface and spin into the air, against a purple background.

Meet The Round Little Gymnasts In Your Backyard

two penguins stand in front of an inflatable rainbow arch in a penguin enclosure

Sphen The Gay Penguin Broke The Ice

A yellowish lizard called the Jamaican giant galliwasp curled up in a jar of preservative

How A 170-Year-Old Lizard Finally Came Home To Jamaica

a mother cape fur seal screaming in front of some pups

How To Eavesdrop On A Seal In A Crowd Of 90,000

<p>A. Frog is a freelance writer living in Japan.</p>


A. Frog

A female green and gold bell frog eating the leg and holding the leg of a male frog

I’ve Never Messed Up So Bad

Close up view of the face of a blue shark showing details of the eye, mouth and sensors in it's snout. This image was taken on a baited shark dive 50 kms offshore past Western Cape.

Frankly It Would Be Surprising If No Sharks Were On Cocaine

150-million-year-old fossil of Stegosaurus specimen is on display at Sotheby's in New York on July 10, 2024.

No One Person Should Be Able To Own A Dinosaur

a close-up of a male common noctule bat against a dark background. the wings week logo is in the leftmost corner