List It
The 10 Most Fun Stories of 2016
January 5
Going to Need a Tougher Buoy
Uncovering the mystery of missing research equipment, aka the time a polar bear bit into and temporarily sunk our buoy in the Arctic.
January 8
Black Cats
Camera traps in Ecuador snagged photos of endangered jaguars. These are a rare sight, as the few jaguars that remain are spread across both sides of the Andes, in the Amazon and Chocó rainforests.
January 29
Still Standing
It was a big year for bison: they were named the U.S.'s official National Mammal. We also learned about Sparky, the 11-year-old male bison who survived being struck by lightning.
March 1
Whistle While You Eat
Turns out gorillas "sing" and "hum" while they're having a meal. For a study published in late February, scientists from WCS and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology suggested it's the adult males who are the loudest. Give a listen.
July 21
A World Like No Other
The high plains of Bolivia house some of the world's largest breeding sites for three of the six flamingo species. WCS researchers based at the Bronx Zoo traveled there and came back with amazing images.
July 26
Scenes from a Secret World
Our colleagues in Arctic Beringia captured incredible footage of young wolverines in some of the most remote country in the United States.
September 2
A Cinderella Story
In 2013, a young tiger cub was discovered in Russia, orphaned and nearly starved. In the coming months and years, we tracked her recovery and re-release into the wild. In September, a camera trap captured the latest update on Zolushka (center, with her cubs).
October 26
Call it a Comeback
Photos from China showed new, critically endangered Chinese alligators had recently hatched. There are only 150 or so of these alligators left in the wild so this is big news.
November 16
Melville Hears Rare Whales
In October, Melville, our acoustic buoy, picked up exciting calls. Two rare whale species (the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale and the sei whale) were identified in New York waters.
November 22
There Are Hippos Here?
A team of rangers captured what is believed to be the first photo evidence of hippos in Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park.
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