Wombats are the only animals in the world that produce cube-shaped scat. But how and why do they do it? Scientists now have a better idea.

A few years ago I wanted to visit the best egg farm I could find. I had been inside an egg factory farm. I had seen a dozen sheds, each with a dozen rows of wire cages stacked two high and 150ft deep. Those cages were so small the birds inside couldn’t even spread their wings. They were half-starved, diseased, and undeniably miserable. Factory farming was clearly wrong, so I wanted to instead find a farm that represented an ethical and humane way to raise animals for food.

Destruction likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, campaigners warn

In Mozambique, researchers are racing to understand the genetics of elephants born without tusks—and the consequences of the trait.

A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs near the capital Cairo containing dozens of cat mummies along with wooden statues depicting other animals and birds.

Vault50.com is a completely independent review guide covering medical, business and industrial products and software. If readers choose to buy our selected editorial picks, we sometimes earn affiliate commissions that support our work. Lulu the pot-bellied pig created quite the media storm back in 1998.

Researchers are just now beginning to understand what happens when one whale species attacks another

The world is bad, but babies remain good.

Introducing the Guardian’s new series The Age of Extinction, the renowned primatologist describes the dramatic vanishing of wildlife she has witnessed in her lifetime – and how we can all play a vital role in halting its destruction

As drones become smaller and cheaper, experts urge people to use caution when flying near wild animals like this brown bear and her cub.

They are the truly forgotten dead. Sixteen million animals “served” in the first world war – and the RSPCA estimates that 484,143 horses, mules, camels and bullocks were killed in British service between 1914 and 1918. Some died before they reached the western front: of 94,000 horses sent from North America in 1917, 2,700 drowned when their vessels were sunk by submarines. Trench dogs hunted for rats in the trenches. Others carried messages. The German army alone employed 30,000 dogs.

The long read: We like to think fish have no feelings. And yet the idea that they have both memory and a capacity for suffering is gaining ground among scientists

Controversial tests to proceed despite opposition from congress and others

As drones become smaller and cheaper, experts urge people to use caution when flying near wild animals like this brown bear and her cub.

Veteran broadcaster says Dynasties, his new BBC wildlife series, will be gripping, truthful and entertaining but not overtly campaigning

There are plenty of great wildlife photographers who take awe-inspiring and interesting shots. But when these animals do funny things and take silly poses: it adds a whole new level to wildlife photography. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is centered on the photos of animals that are sure to improve your day.

Well, we didn't think it was possible, but we should have had more faith in our feathered corvid friends: crows just got even cooler. Researchers have discovered that crows don't just use single objects as tools; they can also make them out of multip

Noise from ships and boats are causing dolphins to make their calls less complex, according to a new study.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced their "profound concern" over the changes in the law, which would allow bone and horn products to be traded

The huge loss is a tragedy in itself but also threatens the survival of civilisation, say the world’s leading scientists

UK scientists demonstrate the practicality of identifying and counting whales from orbit.

International sequencing drive will involve reading genomes of 1.5m species

Elephant birds, the largest known birds, were not daytime foragers as thought; rather, they were highly adapted for the night life.

Scientists break the rules of reproduction, so what does it mean for the future of sex?

For the first time, researchers have discovered that birds can sleep in flight.

Most churches are focused on heaven, but in Poland, they seem to be providing a more earthly benefit: sanctuary for dozens of species of birds. That’s what biologists found when they surveyed the properties of 101 churches and an equal number of farmsteads in villages in southern Poland. Previous research had found that farms in Eastern Europe support large numbers of different kinds of birds, providing important sanctuaries for the species in areas where their more natural habitat was lost.

The author of a new book also says that animals can feel empathy, like the humpback whale that rescued a seal.

“Predator boot camps” in Australia are teaching a group of native animals some hard lessons in coexistence

A rare white tiger has mauled a zookeeper to death in its enclosure at a zoo in Japan, officials say. Akira Furusho, 40, was found bleeding from the neck in the tiger's cage at the zoo in the southern city of Kagoshima. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. The male tiger, named Riku, was sedated with a tranquiliser before rescue workers and police arrived.

Scientists have previously hypothesized that spots are conferred at random or that they are influenced by environmental factors.

Regulators are navigating the turbulent flight path of what animals should be allowed to fly as airlines make their own way

Birds and planes are a bad combination, but it’s not so easy to shoo our avian friends away from airport runways. Thankfully, scientists from France have stumbled upon an ingenious solution to the problem—an optical illusion that appears to scare the crap out of large predatory birds.

Simon Cowell, known as the former judge on America's Got Talent and American Idol, donated $42,000 to the Humane Society International (HSI) to help save 200 dogs from a South Korean dog meat farm. Ninety of the dogs were temporarily sheltered this week at a Cambridge trucking company before being taken to another shelter in Montreal for rehabilitation, socialization and eventual adoption.

Sea turtles have more than a one in five chance of dying after ingesting a single piece of plastic, a study by CSIRO researchers reveals. Scientists analysed almost 1000 washed-up turtles on Australian beaches and found a direct link between the amount of plastic consumed and the demise of the marine animal.

The odds of seeing a deer are pretty high if you live close to a forest. Just in my own neighborhood the other day, I saw one roaming around in a neighbor’s backyard. A lot of people find deer to be a nuisance, claiming that the animals ruin their backyards by stomping on their plants and eating their grass and flowers. Having said that, I think this story might melt even the coldest of hearts and can potentially make all angry backyard owners rethink their perceptions of deer.