Scavengers

It’s a rare thing to find an unknown carnivore these days. That’s what Smithsonian zoologist Kristofer Helgen did when he looked in a museum drawer, and then in the mountains of Ecuador.

Vultures, yes vultures, are increasingly important to the economy and health and safety of a poor, rural area of Bulgaria. The vulture of the Eastern Rhodope Nature Reserve not only dispose of local dead animals, preventing disease, but also are a powerful tourist draw.

Uganda has a trash problem. Basically, it doesn’t get rid of it. So that’s been a boon to the Marabou stork population, which thrives off of garbage and scraps. So that trash problem, which is still there, has morphed into a bird problem. Scientists say the only way to solve it is to take out the trash.

Tracking endangered animals is a tough task. But some scientists from Washington state have an unlikely ally in highly trained, and hyper-active, dogs. The animals smell out skat, which the scientists can then analyze to make determinations about the health of a species in a given area.

Hagfish are eel-like creatures. They defend themselves from predators by producing a thick, suffocating slime. Scientists in Canada have found that this slime contains natural fibers that may offer clues to making the eco-friendly clothing of the future.