Posted: May 24, 2019

Scientists have observed wild chimpanzees biting into an unusual snack: tortoises!

The chimps break the reptiles’ hard shells against trees before scooping out the meat. In a paper published Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from Germany say they spotted the behavior dozens of times at Loango National Park in Gabon, Central Africa. What do their observations mean? Some say it means chimpanzee groups develop their own cultures. (Cultures are the customs and ways of life of a particular group.)

In other places, chimpanzees and tortoises live together in peace. Other primates such as baboons and mandrills are known to feed on young, soft tortoises. But scientists have never spotted any that crack open and eat the reptiles. So why do the chimps at Loango Park do it?

Here’s an idea: the Loango Park region also has a lot of hard-shelled fruit. It needs to be whacked against trees to open. Did chimps just try their fruit-cracking technique on tortoises too?  

Some scientists say chimpanzees don’t have the brain power to think in this creative way . . . much less pass the trick onto other chimps. But the scientists who watched the chimpanzees in the park say that’s exactly what happened. They also say weaker chimpanzees often pass their tortoises to stronger adults who are able to break them open. Then the chimps share the meal among the whole group.

In one case, the authors said, a male was even spotted eating half a tortoise, then tucking the shell into a tree. He came back the next day to finish the leftovers. Does that mean chimps can even plan ahead?

He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. ― Psalm 147:9

A wild chimpanzee eats a tortoise at the Loango National Park on May 20. (Erwan Theleste/Max Planck Institute via AP)

Posted: May 23, 2019

Surprise! This family in Poland expected five babies. Instead, they had six!

A 29-year-old mother named Klaudia Marzec gave birth to sextuplets on May 20 in Krakow, Poland. The babies were born weeks early. But doctors say all six babies are doing fine.

Doctor Ryszard Lauterbach at the University Hospital says the babies were “born in a condition surprisingly good for sextuplets.” But the babies still need a lot of medical care. Their respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems are not as developed as babies that live in their mothers’ wombs for nine whole months.

The babies’ mom says they had gotten all ready for five babies. So now they’ll have to change some of their plans. She says, “Now we just want them to leave hospital in the best condition possible.”

The littlest baby weighed just 1.96 pounds at birth. The biggest weighed 2.86 pounds. Those are tiny babies! Right now, they wait in incubators. Doctors say the little ones can breathe on their own. But they will likely remain in the hospital for around three months. When the babies go home, they’ll be joining their big brother, who is two-and-a-half.

Delivering the babies was a big job. Up to 40 doctors and other medical workers helped.

The boys’ names are Filip and Tymon. The girls were named Zosia, Kaja, Nela, and Malwina. What are the odds that sextuplets would be born? Only one in about 4.7 billion!

Have you ever had a tiny newborn living in your house? Can you imagine what it would be like to have SIX?

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ― Psalm 127:3

An incubator holds one of the sextuplets at the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, on May 21. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)

Posted: May 23, 2019

Workers at a Southern California aquarium have built what is believed to be one of the world’s largest habitats for sea dragons.

What’s a sea dragon?

At first glance, it looks like a branch of kelp. But then an eye moves. Ridges of tiny fins start to flutter. The creature glides through the water like something from a fairy tale.

The exhibit opened this month at the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. The people who designed the habitat hope it will help the leafy sea dragon. There are only two types of sea dragons: leafy and weedy. (Weedy sea dragons are bony fish that look like seaweed.) Both kinds are found only in a small area off Australia. Those native populations are threatened by pollution and because people sell the creatures illegally as pets.

The Birch Aquarium’s 18-foot-long tank has three leafy sea dragons. Two are male. One is female. It has 11 weedy sea dragons. The 5,300-gallon tank is a HUGE space—especially for a leafy sea dragon! Leafy sea dragons grow to only about 14 inches long. The tank has grassy plants, a sandy bottom, and rocks.

Scientists hope the creatures will use the large space to breed. Sea dragons mirror each other in a courtship dance. Then the female deposits her eggs onto a patch on the underside of the male’s tail. Like seahorses, the male carries the young and gives birth.

Sea dragons swim by spinning their fins while their tails act as rudders. They have no natural predator. That’s partly because their slender bodies are covered by bony plates.

A sea dragon swims at the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego in California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Posted: May 22, 2019

The titanium submarine took the explorer deep into the ocean. Down, down, down, he sank.

Why did Victor Vescovo sink so deep? He was filming a mission for a Discovery Channel documentary series. The journey was complicated and exhausting. Mr. Vescovo stayed awake for many hours. He made sure his vessel stayed the course.

Mr. Vescovo’s vessel is called the SDV Limiting Factor. People call it the “ultimate submersible.” A submersible is a vessel that can travel underwater. Mr. Vescovo’s submersible is unique. It is made to travel extremely deep under water.

It took four hours to reach the destination—an area called the Challenger. It is deep in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Vescovo landed the vessel deeper than anyone has ever been in the ocean. He stayed at the bottom of the sea for four hours. It took another four hours to go back up. Mr. Vescovo crushed the last record for deepest dive. He reached 35,853 feet deep! Mr. Vescovo looked around. He took in the once-in-a-lifetime ocean view. Imagine what he saw! Psalm 104:25 says, “Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.”

The submarine has high-definition cameras. They recorded everything—even sea creatures unknown to man. “There have been numerous new species thought found on this expedition,” says Mr. Vescovo. The cameras made a sad discovery too: plastic trash. It’s hard to clean up trash—especially in the ocean.

Mr. Vescovo is a businessman and amateur pilot. He is adventuresome. (He has even climbed Mount Everest!) Why did he want to do the deep dive? His goal wasn’t to set a new record. It was to explore more. “I was stunned to discover when I did my research that of the five oceans, four had never had a visitation to their bottoms,” he said. “I thought it was about time that someone actually did that.”

Mr. Vescovo has filmed a dive into four of the five oceans. Next up—the Arctic Ocean. He plans to explore it this fall. Figure this out: In which four oceans has he already dived? 

Victor Vescovo emerges from his vessel, Limiting Factor, on April 28. He completed a successful dive to the deepest known point in the Pacific Ocean. (Tamara Stubbs/Atlantic Productions for Discovery Channel via AP)

Posted: May 22, 2019

A teen searching for arrowheads in southern Iowa found something much bigger: the jawbone of a mastodon!

People believe mastodons lived long ago. They have studied these huge animals’ bones to guess what they looked like. Here’s what they imagine: gigantic, elephant-like creatures with flappy ears, long noses, and tusks.  

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the 30-inch bone belonged to a young mastodon. Scientists say the mastodon might have stood around seven feet tall.

Finds like this one aren’t uncommon in Iowa. Farmers there often find old bones when they till the soil. This one was hidden on land that belongs to farmers. The farmers donated the jaw to the University of Iowa Paleontology Repository. But they want to stay anonymous. They say they don’t want to encourage people to trespass on their property looking for fossils. That’s probably a good idea. Curious intruders would probably find more bones there. The owners found other mastodon remains there decades ago.

What large teeth you have! A nearly complete lower jaw bone with worn down teeth is displayed at the University of Iowa Paleontology Repository on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

Posted: May 21, 2019

Love pork? Many people in China do. But they’re eating a lot less of it. Why? Pigs in China are sick!

People in China produce and consume two-thirds of the world’s pork. But China’s pigs have African swine fever. People have to buy pork from other places as far away as Europe. That costs almost twice as much.

“I’m a fresh-pork lover, but it's too expensive,” says Lee Wai-man, as she shops at a Hong Kong market.

African swine fever doesn’t harm humans. But is spreads quickly among pigs. It has killed one million pigs all over China since August.

That’s a boost for farmers in Germany, Spain, and other countries with healthy pigs. But it’s hard on families in Southeast Asia where people rely on pork for protein. Grocery shoppers in Germany, Japan, and other markets grumble. They don’t want to pay more for pork products like kielbasa or tonkatsu. But short supplies are a serious concern in places such as Cambodia. There, pork is the only meat many families can afford.

“Pork is important to us,” says Chhe Pich, a Cambodian. “Even though the current price is a bit high, I have to buy it to serve my family.”

The disease has also been reported in Cambodia, Mongolia, South Africa, and Vietnam. It’s been found among a small number of wild boars in Russia and seven European countries too. Wild boars can spread the disease.

Yang Wenguo is a farmer in the Chinese village of Jiangjiaqiao. He says he has lost 800 pigs. He now has a few dozen. Most of Mr. Yang’s pens are empty. White pus drips from blood-shot eyes of one surviving hog. Foam drips from another’s mouth. Smaller pigs cough.

“You buy pigs, then they all die,” he says. Only about 60 to 70 pigs remain from total herds of about 3,000 in Jiangjiaqiao.

Four other families in the village that raised pigs have stopped. Mr. Yang would like to sell his farm and find work in the city. But no one wants to buy. No wonder!

Can farmers rebuild their pig populations? Yes—but it will probably take years.

Pigs stand in a barn at a pig farm in Jiangjiaqiao, China. Pork lovers worldwide are wincing at pork prices. They have jumped by up to 40 percent! (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Posted: May 20, 2019

The Internet has lost its favorite sourpuss. Grumpy Cat’s grouchy expression entertained millions online, through national television commercials, and even a movie. She died on May 14. She was seven years old.

Grumpy Cat’s owners posted on social media that she experienced complications from a urinary tract infection. “Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough,” her owners said.

The cat’s real name was Tardar Sauce. The owners were never sure what her breed was. Why did she look so grumpy? It was likely because she had a form of feline dwarfism. But Tardar Sauce wasn’t really grumpy. She was cuddly and loved to be held.

When Grumpy Cat first became famous, some people thought her photos were fake! Her owners posted videos to prove otherwise. Since then, Grumpy Cat has made appearances on Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, and American Idol. She’s done television commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios. In 2014, she starred in a movie called Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.

The cat’s owner Tabatha Bundesen created a website so fans could buy from an online shop. Grumpy Cat lovers chose from 884 items, including T-shirts and mugs with the cat’s picture.

Grumpy Cat had more than 8 million followers on Facebook. She had 2.5 million on Instagram and more than 1.5 million on Twitter.

Grumpy Cat poses for a photo in Los Angeles in 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Posted: May 17, 2019

Can a smartphone “hear” an ear infection? Researchers work to make that possible.  

Kids get ear infections all the time. Ear infections come with a warning sign: Fluid builds up behind the eardrum. If the researchers’ work works, parents might one day check their kids’ ears at home simply using a phone app. They’ll also need some “stuff you have around the house —paper, tape and scissors,” says one of the lead researchers, Dr. Sharat Raju of the University of Washington.

Ear infections are hard to diagnose. Usually, a pediatrician will peek into a child’s ear to to check on the eardrum.  Parents can buy devices that use cameras to do the same thing. But ear specialists tend to use pricier, more complex tests. These measure if the eardrum is bendable enough to vibrate correctly in response to sound. (An infected ear will have an eardrum stiff from the pressure of fluid behind it.)

The engineers invented a simple smartphone test: Cut a piece of paper. Fold it into a funnel shape. Tape it around the phone’s microphone and speakers. Aim the funnel at the ear canal to focus sound. The app lets out birdlike chirps. The microphone picks up sound waves bouncing off the eardrum. The app analyzes that echo. Is it a vibration from a healthy eardrum? Or does it sound like fluid hides behind the eardrum? The app sends a text saying which is likely. Tests showed the app is even more accurate than specialized testing tools!

Doctors see a lot of kids who think they might have ear infections but actually don’t. The invention could save kids visits to the doctor. The tool could even help doctors with the hard task of examining ears.

But there could be a downside to the new tech. Just because an ear has fluid doesn’t mean it’s infected. Will parents using the new app pressure doctors to prescribe antibiotics when they aren’t really needed?

Dr. Randall Bly uses a uses a phone app and a paper funnel to check his daughter for an ear infection at the UW School of Medicine in Seattle. Dr. Bly and other researchers at the school have developed the system to “hear” a warning sign of ear infections. (Dennis Wise/University of Washington via AP)

Posted: May 16, 2019

A popular animal at the St. Louis Zoo is celebrating a milestone birthday. Merah (MEER-ah) the Sumatran orangutan is half a century old!

Merah just turned 50. She was born May 13, 1969, at a zoo in the Netherlands. She came to St. Louis in 1992.

Merah has had five babies. First Merah gave birth to Ginger in 2014. She was 45 then. That made her the oldest Sumatran orangutan in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Orangutan Species Survival Plan to give birth and raise her baby. Now she has two grand-orangutans. She is also a great-grandmother of one.

Orangutans are in trouble. Their homes have been destroyed. Fewer than 125,000 orangutans remain in the wild. What has gone wrong with orangutans? How can people help them survive? What’s the difference between a monkey and an ape? Find the answers to all those questions in Critter File! Use the memory puzzle to test your knowledge too.  

Merah, a Sumatran orangutan at the St. Louis Zoo, pulls at a sign after having a treat of mostly fruit, juice, and yogurt at the zoo on May 13, 2019. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Posted: May 16, 2019

A new museum opens at the Statue of Liberty. Now the millions of people who visit the statue every year can get the inside scoop on America’s favorite statue! (We wrote all about the new museum while it was being built. Check out these statue stories in Citizen Ship.)

The new museum is big—26,000 square feet. It stands on Liberty Island in New York City. It opens to the public on May 16. Inside, you’ll find the statue’s original torch and other artifacts that used to be in a smaller museum space inside the statue’s pedestal. Until now, only a small number of statue visitors could get tickets to see them.

“We looked at this small museum and thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to . . . move it out to a place where more people could experience it,” says John Piltzecker, National Park Service superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island.

The new space is open to anyone who comes to Liberty Island. From the outside, the glass walls and copper-colored roof appear to be rising out of the ground. The structure is built from the same type of granite that’s part of the statue pedestal.

Inside, visitors watch a film. It tells how the idea for the statue came about. It shows how it was made in France and how it arrived in the New York Harbor. It explores questions: What did liberty mean then? What does it mean now? In the final section, visitors are encouraged to take selfies. They are supposed to answer this question: What does liberty mean to you?  

For freedom Christ has set us free. ― Galatians 5:1
The Statue of Liberty Museum, set to open Thursday May 16, 2019 on Liberty Island (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Posted: May 15, 2019

Cuba has a big problem. It has a shortage of staples—basic goods people need to live. Government officials plan to limit how much chicken, eggs, rice, beans, and soap people can buy. Officials want to control the sale of scarce staples. That’s called rationing.

Why is there a food and goods shortage in Cuba? Cuba’s Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez blames President Trump’s administration for tightening trade with Cuba. Other people blame Venezuela. Venezuela supplies Cuba with oil. Venezuela’s state-run oil company has collapsed. This cuts the supply of fuel Cuba uses for power and trade. Without enough fuel, Cuba can’t get enough food.

No matter who is to blame, Cuba is facing a food crisis. Cuba depends on other countries for food. Now food is disappearing from store shelves. Stores have long lines. They run out of food fast. The government also blames “hoarders” for the food shortage. Hoarders stock up on supplies—often out of fear that staples will run out.

Lazara García thinks her government should ration food. She says, “The country’s going through a tough moment. This is the right response. Without this, there’ll be hoarders.” This week, the entire country is being asked to ration food.

What is grocery shopping like in Cuba? The government runs Cuba’s groceries. Every Cuban gets a ration book. This book lets each person buy small amounts of basic foods. Only a certain amount of each food can be purchased monthly. The food isn’t expensive, but quantities are limited. Cubans with more money can buy more food. But extra food is expensive.

Is rationing the answer to Cuba’s food crisis? Not everyone thinks so. “What the country needs to do is produce,” says business owner Manuel Ordónez. He says if Cubans make more goods to put on the shelves, lines will be shorter. But is that possible? The government controls all Cuba’s trade. Cuba’s food production is shrinking. Commerce Minister Díaz is convinced that food rationing will make staples available to most people. She says, “Selling limited quantities will lead to equal distribution, so that the greatest number of people can buy the product, and we can avoid hoarding.” What do you think?

We read about a severe famine in Genesis 41. Joseph, in Egypt, rationed stored grain to people from different nations. Genesis 41:57 says, “Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.”

An employee works in a government food store in Havana, Cuba, in October 2009. The store’s shelves are empty. On Friday, May 10, 2019, the Cuban government announced that it will begin rationing basic staples. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

Posted: May 15, 2019

A noisy geyser in Yellowstone National Park roars awake. Naptime is over!

Ledge Geyser has stayed quiet for three whole years. It is one of the biggest geysers in Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser Basin. A geyser is a spring in the ground. The water inside sometimes boils, sending water and steam soaring into the sky. This geyser shoots hot water up to 125 feet in the air! The water moves at an angle and can travel as far as 220 feet.

Why is Ledge Geyser noisy? Yellowstone geologist Jeff Hungerford says it’s because the water and steam must pass through a narrow opening in the ground.

Yellowstone has about 500 geysers, more than anywhere else on Earth. Some geysers such as Old Faithful are predictable. But most, like Ledge Geyser, seem to erupt whenever they feel like it! People can only guess when it will happen.

Ledge Geyser in Yellowstone National Park within days of its most recent eruption that began on April 28, 2019.  (National Park Service via AP)

Posted: May 14, 2019

People cheer as 37 spotted seal pups splash into the water in northern China. First step: rescue! Second step: release!

Traffickers are people who trade something illegal. It is against the law to sell spotted seals in China, where seals are endangered. Police found these trafficked seal pups three months ago. The seals were in a shed on a farm in Dalian, China. The seals were sick and needed food badly. Police arrested eight suspects.

People think the pups were taken from the wild so traffickers could sell them to aquariums, shops, and restaurants. Once, people hunted the seals for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Too many were killed and the species came close to disappearing. Now laws protect the animals.

But in China, it grows more and more popular to keep animals in captivity. That leads to a big problem: wildlife crime. People still often steal baby spotted seals from seal mothers.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ― Romans 13:1

A spotted seal splashes into the water after being released by officials near Dalian in northeastern China on May 10. (Pan Yulong/Xinhua via AP)

Posted: May 13, 2019

Indonesia is standing up against illegal fishing. On May 4, authorities sank 51 foreign ships they had seized operating illegally in their waters. The sunken ships were a warning to other countries. “Stay out of our waters!”

            Indonesia has expansive waters. It has some of the world’s richest fishing areas. The 51 ships were sunk at five ports across the Indonesian waterways. They included 38 Vietnamese-flagged ships, six Malaysian, two Chinese, and one Filipino ship. The remaining ships were foreign owned, but they were deceptively flying the Indonesian flag.

            Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti announced that the ships were a threat to her country’s fishing industry. She said, “This crime of illegal fishing in our waters was out of mind. We can’t tolerate anymore.” In her speech, she alerted the public to the danger of the illegal boats and their crews. They not only steal Indonesian fish, but they are often involved in modern day slavery to provide workers on the boats.

            This sinking operation was low-key compared to previous demonstrations. In the past, illegal boats were blown to pieces. The explosions were even televised! This week, a video released by the fisheries ministry showed officers filling the illegal boat with sand to sink it.  

            Since 2014, Indonesia claims to have sunk more than 500 illegal fishing vessels. Last year, they sank 125. The majority of those vessels were Vietnamese-flagged ships.

            It is clear that Indonesia is troubled over its waters. The country is an archipelago, or group of islands. It has an enormous number of islands—more than 17,000! That covers a vast stretch of ocean as part of their territory.  

            In the New Testament we read time and time again about fishermen. Sometimes they filled their boats with fish. Other times, they caught nothing. How many fishing references can you find?

Workers flood the cargo bay of a Vietnamese-flagged boat to sink it in the waters off Datuk Island, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Authorities sank 51 foreign fishing boats caught operating illegally in the Indonesian waters. (AP Photos/William Pasaribu)

Posted: May 10, 2019

For people in the town of Caravaca de la Cruz, in southeastern Spain, May 2 is the most important day of the year. It’s the day that thousands of people come to watch a colorful horse race. The “Los Caballos del Vino,” is translated in English as the Running of the Wine Horses. This race is hundreds of years old. It is fast and furious. The horsemen hang on for dear life. To win the race is to win the admiration of all of the people. The Running of the Wine Horses is a race that is both dangerous and exhilarating. And it started because of a legend.

            No one is sure if the race’s history is fact, or a myth. It is based on a legend of the Knights Templar. The city castle was attacked. Its water poisoned. And the people trapped inside the castle were thirsty. The knights tied skins—or containers—of wine to the backs of horses. They ran the horses up the hill to the castle as fast as they could run. They reached the castle before being spotted by the invaders. The brave knights rescued the prisoners.

            The Running of the Wine Horses celebrates this story. The horses are groomed. Their manes and tails are braided. They are dressed in an elaborate cloak called a “caparison.” The cloak is hand-embroidered with colorful thread.

            On May 2, thousands of people gather in the streets and on the castle’s hill. Onlookers have to be careful! The race is intense and unpredictable. Each competing team is called a troupe. It has four men dressed in black pants, white shirts, and red scarves. The rules are simple. No matter what, all four men must cross the finish line with their horse. They hang onto the horse for dear life as it gallops full throttle up the steep dirt road to the castle. As the horses run, the crowd swarms out of the way!

            Some contestants trip and fall. Others don’t run fast enough. Some horses rear and bolt. The race is fast. The record winning time is eight seconds! “Coming in first is something that is impossible to put into words. It’s a feeling that anyone from Caravaca de la Cruz dreams of from a young age,” says competitor Juan Antonio Sánchez. This year, dreams came true for the “Calimocho” troupe. Its mare Bulería won the race.

            Nahum 2:4 describes an erratic chariot race. The Running of the Wine Horses race sounds similar! “The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning.”

On May 2, 2019, a troupe and their decorated horse make their way through the crowd. The Running of the Wine Horses is a colorful race. Thousands of tourists come to Caravaca do la Cruz, in southeast Spain, to see the race. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Posted: May 9, 2019

U.S. wildlife officials have an idea. They want to bump a beetle off a big list. The Endangered Species List is for species that have shrinking families. Why can the American burying beetle get bumped? Because it’s making a terrific comeback.

This beetle is one for the books. It’s a carnivore. That means it only eats meat. It’s nocturnal. That means that it is busy at night. On top of that, the burying beetle is only active during summer months. What is a meat-eating nocturnal beetle doing all summer long? It’s eating decaying animals! (Not to mention burying animal remains and laying eggs beside them.)

The burying beetle is brightly colored. It has a black body with orange marked wings. It also has orange specks on its face and antennae. The beetle’s appearance stands out. So do their survival skills! They fly far and fast. Burying beetles are efficient recyclers. They find small, dead animals. They bury the animal remains, strip them of fur or feathers, and preserve them for meals. As they break down carcasses (dead animal bodies) the beetles put nutrients back into the soil.

Years ago, the American burying beetle was found in 35 states and three Canadian provinces. But in 1989 it was added to the federal Endangered Species List. At that time, the beetle was found only in eastern Oklahoma and Rhode Island. For thirty years, people have been working to bring the beetle back.

Recently, the bugs have been seen in seven different U.S. states. Biologists can’t quite figure out what type of habitat burying beetles prefer. They also wonder why the species became endangered thirty years ago. Thankfully, this beetle family has made a remarkable comeback. Maybe it’s time to take the burying beetle back off the endangered list.

Nocturnal critters have been moving around in the dark since creation. Psalm 104:20 says, “You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about,”

U.S. wildlife officials say that the American burying beetle is making a comeback. They think the beetle should be bumped down to threatened on the endangered species list. (2015 photo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)