Curated playlist
Necrophages
- Red foxThe red fox, Vulpes vulpes, occupies a range of nearly 70 million square kilometres that stretches north as far as the Arctic Circle. It is the largest of the true foxes. It is also among the most widely distributed members of the order…
- American black bearIn Yosemite National Park, only 9 percent of American black bears are actually black. The other 91 percent are brown or blonde. The American black bear, Ursus americanus, is the smallest bear in North America and also the most widespread.…
- Great white sharkThe great white shark has 300 teeth in rows, each one replaced all its life.
- CoyoteIn 2026, a coyote, Canis latrans, swam to the southern edge of Alcatraz Island. To get there, it crossed more than a mile of water from the nearest land in San Francisco. A swim like that would surprise anyone who pictures the coyote only…
- WolfWolves have been driven from the British Isles entirely. Their range is now about one-third of its historic size.
- Brown bearThe brown bear can run down a moose, yet 90% of its food comes from plants. Adults can weigh up to 600 kg.
- HyenaHyenas look and hunt like dogs but are actually closer to cats. Their dog-like look came from convergent evolution.
- DogA dog buried in Germany 14,223 years ago had survived distemper as a puppy.
- Wild boarIn 1749, in Hachinohe, Japan, 3,000 people died in what became known as the wild boar famine. The animal behind that name is the wild boar, Sus scrofa, also called the wild swine or the Eurasian wild pig. Its native range covers much of…
- Grizzly bearWhen Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first described the grizzly bear, they wrote its name as grisley. That spelling can be read two ways. It can mean grizzled, as in hair tipped with grey. It can also mean grisly, something that…
- WolverineThe wolverine known as M-56 began his famous journey as a young male, tagged by Wildlife Conservation Society officials in Wyoming near Grand Teton National Park. Researchers tracked him south for almost three months. In June 2009 the…
- Bald eagleBy the 1950s, only 412 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained across the 48 contiguous states of the United States. In the early 18th century, the population is estimated to have stood between 300,000 and 500,000. The bald eagle, Haliaeetus…
- DingoThe dingo, a lean wild dog of Australia, first appears under that name in 1789, in Watkin Tench's Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay. Tench wrote: "The only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called…
- Komodo dragonThe Komodo dragon, known to scientists as Varanus komodoensis, is the largest living species of lizard. Males can reach 3 m in length and weigh up to 150 kg. Its home is a short chain of Indonesian islands: Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili…