As people come to understand more about animals' inner lives – the intricacies of their thoughts and the emotions that are expressed every day by whales and cows, octopus and mice, even bees – we feel a growing compassion, a desire to better their li...

There's nothing quite like a relationship with an aged pet – a dog or cat who has been at our side for years, forming an ineffable bond. Pampered pets, however, are a rarity among animals who have been domesticated. Farm animals, for example, are usu...

One of the largest islands in the world, Madagascar is home to an astonishing array of endemic vertebrate biodiversity. While recent decades have seen numerous publications on the subject – ranging from technical papers to species descriptions and fi...

Ask anyone who has owned a pet and they'll assure you that, yes, animals have personalities. And science is beginning to agree. Researchers have demonstrated that both domesticated and nondomesticated animals – from invertebrates to monkeys and apes...

Elephants have fascinated humans for millennia. Aristotle wrote of them with awe; Hannibal used them in warfare; and John Donne called the elephant "Nature's greatest masterpiece... The only harmless great thing". Their ivory has been sought after an...