NEWS

Bobcats may act leery when coyotes have recently visited a gut pile For a study published recently in Ecosphere, Alex Jensen, a postdoctoral researcher at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, and his colleagues placed 75 trail cameras across a variety of forest habitats in early 2020, and again in early 2021…. Read More >

Original news story published August 3, 2023. Updated November 20, 2023. Illustration of Mambachiton fiandohana as it may have looked in life, showing the characteristic paired scutes along its back. Art by Matt Celeskey. A team of American and Malagasy researchers, including NCMNS Research Curator of Paleontology Dr. Christian Kammerer, have discovered a new species… Read More >

RALEIGH, NC – A new study published in Animal Conservation has revealed that the recent dramatic decline of endangered red wolves in North Carolina coincided with significant increases in multiple prey and competitor species on lands within the red wolf recovery area. The findings support the idea that this rare wolf species had been exerting… Read More >

A native hispid cotton rat. Photo: Dr. Mike Cove. The News & Observer talked to Research Curator of Mammalogy Dr. Mike Cove about the rattiest cities in North Carolina. The Raleigh-Durham area came in 23rd, up eight places from last year. One reason? Rats and mice are tiny, and they can fit into the smallest… Read More >

A family of Thescelosaurus emerges from safety to forage in the forests of the Hell Creek Formation, 66 million years ago. Image: Anthony Hutchings. A CT scan of an often-overlooked, plant-eating dinosaur’s skull reveals that while it may not have been all that “brainy,” it had a unique combination of traits associated with living animals… Read More >