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It’s a quiet, warm summer evening with no human in sight for miles in the woods. As the sun sets, tiny flashes of light start to flicker throughout the trees. At first there’s just a few, but soon hundreds of blinking lights are floating in the forest. Fireflies have come out for the evening.
YOU GLOW, GUYS Fireflies mostly use their light to “talk” to other fireflies and find

Wolves live in groups called packs. A pack is a family of 7-8 wolves with a mom, dad, and offspring. The wolves‘ communication skills are very important to the pack’s survival. Wolves work together to hunt, raise their young, and protect their territory. Wolves communicate with more than howls. They whimper and whine, growl and bark, yelp and snarl. They also use scents produced by their bodies to communicate. A wolf’s sense of smell is 100 times stronger than a human’s. One source of scent is urine, which they use to mark territory and to tell other wolves in their own pack where they are. Another way wolves communicate is through body language. If a wolf feels confident, it will approach another wolf with its head and tail held high and ears perked up. If you saw a wolf slinking toward another with its body lowered, its tail between its legs, and its ears flattened, you’d know it was approaching a dominant animal. When a pack of wolves does howl, it can be heard from ten miles away. The howl is used as a way to call to another pack or warn of danger. Each pack has a unique howl, and while they don’t howl at the moon, wolves howl more when the moon is full and bright. When a wolf wants to play, it prances about happily and bows—lowering the front of its body while its rump stays up in the air with its tail wagging. When its angry, a wolf may furrow its forehead, show its fangs, or growl. A wolf’s body language may remind you of another animal: a pet dog. Wolves and dogs are closely related, and the ways they communicate are similar. Young wolves stay in their parents‘ pack for at least two years before some of them take off to join other packs or to start their own. They may stay close to their parents or go far away. Wolf pups play a lot as they’re growing. They leap and pounce, chase and wrestle, play hide-and-seek and tag—a lot like you do! A new wolf couple will produce one litter of pups every year. Just like a human older brother or sister looks after its younger sibling, the older wolf offspring care for their younger brothers and sisters by finding them food. In some areas, gray wolfs are classified as endangered, but in most places, they are seen to have healthy population numbers.
(Find out how these canines are making a comeback.) 

Beavers are the largest rodents (gnawing animals) in North America and the second largest in the world, behind the South American capybara. Beavers are powerful swimmers that can swim underwater for up to 15 minutes. As the beaver dips underwater, the nose and ears shut to keep water out. Transparent inner eyelids also close over each eye to help the beaver see.
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Caribou are mammals that live in the northern regions of Europe, North America, Asia, and Greenland. When snow begins to fall, caribou move south and travel to more sheltered climes where they can feed on moss or lichens. These members of the deer family dig for food using their large hooves. The underside of each hoof is hollowed out like a big scoop and allows the caribou to dig through snow in search of food. Caribou trek north in the summer in one of the largest animal migrations on Earth. They travel more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) along well-traveled routes. They spend the summer feeding on grasses, mushrooms, and plants in the tundra. They begin to move south in the winter and over one year they will have migrated over 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers). One adult caribou eats about 12 pounds (5 kilograms) of food each day. Caribou are hunted by indigenous northern people throughout much of their range. Woodland caribou are listed as endangered, but other caribou populations are stable.
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A 40-pound mammal creeps along a tree branch in a steamy forest. The animal looks like a cross between a cat and a bear. And its appearance isn’t even its strangest quality. What’s even weirder is the creature’s smell: It gives off the scent of buttered popcorn! This is the binturong, an animal that’s full of surprises. GET A GRIP Binturongs live in the rain forests of Southeast Asia. They belong to a family of carnivorous mammals that also includes civets. The animals spend most of their time hanging out in the treetops. When they aren’t lounging on branches, they’re looking for yummy snacks such as insects, birds, and fruit. The animal uses its tail—which is almost as long as its body—like a fifth limb as it climbs through the forest. This tail is prehensile, which means it’s capable of gripping things. The binturong is one of only two carnivores that has a prehensile tail. (The other is the kinkajou.) By grasping onto branches and trunks with the furry extension, the binturong is able to move more easily along the trees. PASS THE POPCORN As they travel, binturongs rub a pungent substance produced in their scent glands onto branches and foliage. The animals use the odor to mark territory as well as to attract mates. The substance smells like buttery popcorn. With all its cool qualities, you definitely can’t turn your nose up at this odd-smelling animal! Text by Andrea Silen, NGS Staff
Find out what else makes the binturong so freaky in this episode of Freaky Creatures

Black-tailed jackrabbits are not actually rabbits, but are hares. Hares are born with fur and are larger than rabbits. They usually have taller hind legs and longer ears. These speedy animals are capable of reaching 40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour. They have powerful hind legs that can propel them on leaps of more than 10 feet (3 meters) . They use these leaps and a zigzag running style to evade their many predators, including coyotes. Jackrabbits produce a lot of young called leverets or bunnies. Females give birth to several litters a year, each with one to six young. The young mature quickly and require little care from their mothers. While the endangered status of most species is least concern, the Tehuantepec jackrabbit is considered near threatened. Other species of jackrabbits live in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
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Co-what-i? You may not be familiar with this fur ball, which inhabits parts of South America, Central America, and North America. But you no doubt know about the mammal’s famous family. The coati is closely related to the raccoon. And like its cousin, this mammal is the size of a large house cat, has a ringed tail, and hangs out in trees. SNOOZE AND CHEWS Unlike the nocturnal raccoon, which is active at night, the coati mostly gets its z’s when it’s dark. These animals turn treetops into bedrooms, even building comfy twig-and-leaf nests in branches for their babies. As a coati sleeps, it tucks its nose into its belly. During the day, the coati is all about snacking. It uses its long, flexible nose to probe gaps between rocks and search under piles of leaves for grub. Coatis eat insects, fruit, rodents, lizards, and small snakes. MAKE SOME NOISE Female and baby coatis eat, sleep, and travel in packs of about 30. At age two, males leave to live on their own. In groups these animals are chatty—they click, grunt, whistle, and bark as they forage for food. So while it may not be as well known as its raccoon relatives, the coati definitely lets you know it’s there. Text by April Capochino Myers
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A red-bellied piranha calmly swishes through a river. Suddenly, it spots dinner: a shrimp swimming nearby. The fish glides closer and opens its mouth to reveal rows of razor-sharp, triangular teeth. Then it snaps up its prey in its powerful jaws and swallows the shrimp whole. Finished with its first course, the fish swims off in search of more food. ON THE HUNT Red-bellied piranhas live in lakes and rivers in South America. They sometimes use their mighty mouths to gobble up other fish or animals such as shrimp, worms, and mollusks. They swim and hunt in shoals, or schools, that can include more than a hundred individuals. According to legend, the animals, which can grow about 14 inches long, have even devoured human swimmers. MISUNDERSTOOD FISH Despite their big bite, scientists believe that the animals’ fearsome reputation has been exaggerated. Researchers think that these fish swim in groups for protection, not to carry out underwater takedowns . And reports of the fish going after humans are extremely rare. When some red-bellied piranhas do get aggressive, they have an interesting way of telling others to „back off“—they make bark-like sounds! Guess these guys are all bark, and just some bite. Text by April Capochino Myers
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Bull sharks are among the most dangerous sharks in the world, according to many experts. This is because they’re an aggressive species of shark, and they tend to hunt in waters where people often swim: along tropical shorelines. Bull sharks live throughout the world, in shallow, warm ocean waters. They’ve been known to swim up into freshwater rivers. Humans are not part of a bull shark’s normal prey. Bull sharks will eat almost anything, but their diet consists mainly of fish. They also sometimes eat dolphins and sea turtles. Bull sharks even eat other sharks. They hunt during the day and at night. Sharks must keep salt in their bodies to survive, and most can live only in salt water. But bull sharks have developed special adaptations—the way their kidneys function and special glands near their tails—that help them keep salt in their bodies even when they’re in freshwater. Scientists are still studying these sharks to figure out why they developed this unusual ability.
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If you live in the contiguous United States, you’ve almost certainly seen (or heard!) an American crow. Crows range from southern Canada throughout the United States. As an adult, this bird is entirely black from bill to tail, except for its brown eyes. Adult crow feathers have a glossy sheen. These noisy birds are often recognizable by their distinctive, loud cry, called a caw. They are often mistaken for the common raven, but ravens are larger, have differently shaped bills, pointed wings and tails, and hoarser cries. American crows often live in family groups. Both members of a breeding pair help build the nests, and the female crow usually lays four or five eggs in the spring or summer. After about five weeks in the nest, the young birds begin learning how to fly and catch prey. Crows sometimes stay near the place where they were born to help raise other young crows. Crows gather in large groups during the winter. They congregate late in the day in areas with large trees. This behavior is known as winter roosting. Crows will eat almost anything, from insects and small animals such as frogs to fruit and nuts. They prefer open areas with access to trees and can sometimes be found around vegetable gardens. Crows also frequently live in suburban neighborhoods and in parks. Crows are considered to be very intelligent birds. Text by Sara Zeglin / NGS Staff
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