Animal Teachers and Marie de France
The twelfth century poet Marie de France used animals to teach lessons of courtly love.
Yaks in Tibet
As China tried to expand into Tibet in the late 1930s, it looked to the yak as a way to "modernize" Tibetan culture.
Scientists vs. Animal Welfare Activists in the 1920s
The movement against vivisection—experiments involving live animals—swelled with women. A group of scientists was determined to stop them.
The US Army’s Remarkable Camel Corps of the 1850s
Imported from Mediterranean ports, the marvelous pack animals served to great acclaim in the military.
Sheep Snarf Seaweed at the Scottish Seashore
A seaweed-only diet seems to curb methane emissions in sheep on a tiny island in Scotland.
Biomimicry Comes for the Noble Hedgehog
Inventors often use animals' adaptations to the environment in applications that benefit humans, from sharky swimsuits to hedgehog-inspired helmets.
America, Where the Dogs Don’t Bark and the Birds Don’t Sing
The Comte de Buffon's thirty-six volume Natural History claimed that America was a land of degeneracy. That enraged Thomas Jefferson.
The Cartoonishly Giant Antlers of the Irish Elk
The mystery of the Irisk Elk's giant antlers attracted the attention of famous evolutionary biologist Steven Jay Gould.
The Strange Case of Daniel Defoe’s Civet Scheme
In the 17th century, these animals were prized for their musk. So when the not-yet-famous writer Daniel Defoe needed quick cash, he turned to civets.