Coffee and Creatures

The gemsbok shrugs off a surprising amount of desert death.

Never mind, firefly squid, it’s your kids’ problem now!

The first horse Eohippus looks weird, but then we didn’t look like anything 55 million years ago!

Because Irish folklore isn’t all happy little leprechauns.

There’s nothing cloak and dagger about the Cape fox, but it did almost disappear.

Yes, I’m glad the lions didn’t eat me too. No, it wasn’t a tent. Yes, we woke up to lions …

The black mamba will keep you away. By fair means or foul.

The aardwolf is so not a wolf it doesn’t even howl or eat meat. Usually.

The last 26 animals in one shot, but this time, the bits I left out! Another weird tale of Inuit …

Estate agent: Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Cuban Sparrow! Female: Er, Zapata Sparrow? Estate agent: Yes yes of course! Do come …

The yellow mantella frog thinks humanity has got it all wrong.

The Xingu river ray is the Amazon’s high-tech hover ship. Just mind the weapon system.

A year ago today, after a combination of boredom, restlessness, and guilt for playing computer games all evening, I set …

The woolly rhino is proof that a hairy coat, massive build, and impressive horns don’t make you invincible.

The male vicuña is basically a romantic hero wrapped in luxury wool.

The umbrella conger eel doesn’t look like its name, but it’s well covered. From scrutiny, anyway.

The tuatara’s ancestors survived the dinosaurs, the comet, and the Ice Age. So losing to rats is just embarrassing.

Fellow creatures of the Miocene. It is with great regret I announce my abdication from the role of “largest carnivorous …

Ribbon seal: Well that movie wasn’t scary. Ringed seal: What?! I’m white as a pup! I won’t get any sleep …

Its name sounds like a double sneeze, but there are far stranger things about this dinky South American bird. It …