zooillogix

In just a few days, my good friend and fellow Zooillogix blogger, Julia, will leave the safety of Chicago for the violent, pineapple-strewn streets of Honolulu for a new job. Here are some things you should know about Julia: #1 - She is the best kickball player in the Midwest. #2 - She has a margay…

New YouTube research definitively proves that turtle society is highly altruistic and that Disney's heretofore refusal to make a movie about them is racism, pure and simple.

In this nightmarish time lapse video, a gentle spider crab is internally consumed by a terrifying angry red spider crab who then dispenses of the empty husk of its former host. ... or maybe its just molting Thanks to our Asian friend Kangatron for sharing.

Stunning footage of deep-sea squids from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where researchers use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to observe and record deep-sea animal behaviors.

Turns out casual experimention with a little meth here and there is a good thing, if you're a snail. A paper recently published in the Journal of Experimental Biology explains how snails were able to remember negative stimuli longer when under the influence of a bit of speed. When great pond…

So a week back or so, a number of friends read an article about death by rectal eel and immediately thought of me. For those of you who missed the story, it went a little something like this: * Chinese man gets drunk with friends and passes out * Friends think it would be hilarious to insert a…

Ann Littlewood is a one-time zoo keeper and now-time murder mystery writer whose stories take place in and around zoos. An awesome combination if you ask me. I'm very much looking forward to reading her upcoming book, Did Not Survive, but in the interim, I will wear my dog as a hat. As you can…

Now this is how it's done. The Bollywood horse slide.

Kunekune pigs are being trained by the US Navy to hunt out and disarm undersea anti-ship mines. Or that might be dolphins. The documentation is unclear.

Atlantis. The Loch Ness monster. The National Aquarium. What do these things have in common? They were only fabled to exist, until now! I know what you're thinking, "I've been to the National Aquarium in Baltimore... and I love tater tots and also was once attracted to a cousin." Well, you'd be…

Spider monkeys + Jello = good times at the Bronx Zoo

A research team led by Julian Finn of the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne has discovered octopuses using coconut shells as portable protection. Not only do they hide under single halves but will actually pull two halves together and hide inside, like some sort of Super Mario baddie. The video is…

An Indonesian Zooillogix reader, Harianto Talim, grossly overestimated our entomological abilities and asked us to help him identify an Indonesian ant that he has never seen before. In this blurry series of photos, you can see that the ant is bright orange and green and may or may not smoke…

Dave Goldenberg of Gelf Magazine was kind enough to send along this very graphic, often upsetting, but ultimately pretty awesome video of a baby elephant birth in Indonesia. Watch to the end.

New footage of the world's largest stingray. Thanks to Hunter for bringing this to our attention.

Beautiful and fascinating footage of a Bloodbelly Comb (not a jellyfish, but similarly gelatinous, like my brother) from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's remote operated vehicle. The laser light show comes from tiny transparent, hair-like cilia combined with trace amounts of LSD that will forever remain…

Straight from Katie and Andrew's closets we bring you this Mountain Dew-soaked photographic essay. An explosive herbivore bursts forth from your chest So many, many more below the fold... Oh my sternum? Yes, it's real bear Spirit of the Casino A rare candid glimpse into pre-Columbian North…

One of the world's few flightless parrots, the Kakapo is endemic to New Zealand and is notable for having parrot sex with this guy's head. This is basically Benny's dream date. Thanks to reader Heather H. for sending along.

A ridiculously cool dinosaur encounter on a German TV show. Part animatronics, part puppet show, and part Sprockets. Some great Halloween costume ideas.

Groundbreaking

If you are unfamiliar with South Korea's Everland Zoo and their ridiculously talented photographer who goes by FloridaPFE on Flickr, time to make a new friend.

They're nocturnal. They live in caves. They use ecolocution. BREAKING NEWS: BAT LOOSE IN CONGRESS

Sure you could watch your cat sleeping or your TV while it was turned off, but we here at Zooillogix prefer to stare blankly at this shrew not moving for 1:16 minutes. Thank you Philadelphia Zoo.

For centuries, the Narwhal was the great mystery of the sea. With the body of a whale and the horn of a Unicorn, many people believed these fascinating creatures were harmless inhabitants of the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. Recent studies, however, have exposed the secret agenda of these…

...and American couple John and Steve, who are trying to have a baby themselves, created a truly inspiring tribute video and shared it with Zooillogix. Visit John and Steve Are Having a Baby for more info.

Who, I ask you, is the coolest human being on the planet? Well yesterday (continuing through today and possibly tomorrow) it was Beth F. for sending me this rocking shot glass from the Oakland Zoo. Awesome things in this photo include: Oakland Zoo Shot Glassitude, my thumb, waffle-weave polyester…

Continuing our long tradition of espousing the virtues of dwarfism and breeding animals as tiny as possible regardless of the health consequences (i.e. adorability!), we bring you a contender for world's smallest horse. This thing should be painted pink or lavender immediately!