Mental Floss

ANIMALS

Courtesy of Wellness Natural Pet Food

America's Most Pet-Friendly Workplaces

Here's where to work if you want to bring your pupper to the office.

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Nuns in Mexico Are Keeping a Sacred Salamander From Going Extinct

The axolotl has an unlikely ally.

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Decapitated Rattlesnake Still Manages to Bite and Nearly Kill Victim

In some cases, beheading a snake is just going to upset it more.

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11 Expert Tips for Adopting a Cat

Planning on taking a ball of fur home during Adopt a Cat month? Experts weigh in on 11 ways you can make the match a good one.

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11 Facts About Tiger Sharks

One of them was a player in Australia’s greatest unsolved murder mystery.

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Hero Crayfish Cheats Death By Removing Its Own Claw to Escape Pot of Boiling Water

The clever crustacean is the Houdini of the animal kingdom.

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10 Nice Things You Can Do for Your Cat

Besides feeding it, of course.

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Why Do Dogs Crouch Forward When They’re Playing?

Here's what the "play bow" really means.

Justine et al, PeerJ, 2018

Carnivorous Hammerhead Flatworms Are Invading France

Some species contain the same neurotoxin found in pufferfish.

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DNA Analysis of Loch Ness Could Reveal the Lake's Hidden Creatures

Three hundred water samples from around the lake will be tested.

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10 Biting Facts About Snapping Turtles

Happy World Turtle Day!

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This Is the Age When Puppies Reach 'Peak Cuteness'

They're at their most adorable when they need us the most.

Martin Wittfooth

The Cat Art Show Is Coming Back to Los Angeles in June

The works will be available to purchase.

Sudan, the last male member of the northern white rhino subspecies, while being shipped to Kenya in 2009

How a Pregnant Rhino Named Victoria Could Save an Entire Subspecies

The last male northern white rhino died, but the species still has a fighting chance.

(c) Field Museum, CSZ5974c, photographer Carl Akeley, used with permission.

The Time Carl Akeley Killed a Leopard With His Bare Hands

Carl Akeley had plenty of dangerous close encounters with animals in his long career as a naturalist and taxidermist—a tradition that began on his very first trip to Africa.

Drawing depicting the Great Auk, from the book 'Birds of America' by John James Audubon.

10 Tragic Stories of Extinct Animals

The dodo isn't the only tragic tale.

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7 Cases of Mistaken Dog Identity

Man's best friend can sometimes be a little hard to recognize.

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Why Crows Hold Noisy Funerals for Their Fallen Friends

Crows see death as a learning opportunity.

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The Right Way to Hold Your Cat, According to a Vet

All the cuddles, none of the struggle.

One known species of isopod, or "giant sea cockroach"

Bizarre New Species of Crabs and a Giant Sea Cockroach Discovered in Waters Off Indonesia

Researchers thought the foot-long sea cockroach was "cute."

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Climate Change Is Making It Hard for Bears to Hibernate Through the Winter

More black bears are waking up earlier—or not hibernating at all.

7 Vintage Portraits of Dogs

The Dog in Photography: 1839-Today is a thorough survey of the history of dog pics.

NOAA Photo Library, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

7 Impressive Animal Defense Mechanisms

From shooting blood from their eyes to using their own ribs as spears, these animals will do whatever it takes to stay alive.

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Watch a "Trained" Spider Named Kim Leap Six Times Its Body Length

Kim was the only regal jumping spider willing to participate in the researchers' study.