We like animals that we perceive as being similar to ourselves. It is not a coincidence that those animals that humans consider similar to them in terms of appearance, intelligence and/or sociality, also enjoy the highest levels of protection in modern societies (for example primates,... click to read more

In general, we imagine ants as little pieces of something bigger, with the value of the individual being marginal, even sacrificing themselves if necessary for the good of the colony. Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are a specialized termite predator of sub-Saharan Africa. In the early... click to read more

When animals became domesticated, they gained protection from starvation, predation and disease but lost freedom. This is very well exemplified with the dog, the first animal that had been domesticated and that is very different from its ancestor, the wolf, in terms of behavior, morphology... click to read more

Neandertals are our closest evolutionary relative. They have been extinct for approximately 40,000 years, but lived across Europe and West Asia where they co-existed and interbred with humans. Despite their remarkable physical and genetic similarity to us humans, our understanding of their lifestyle is limited.... click to read more

A new kind of human, Homo floresiensis was a surprise discovery in 2003 by an Australian-Indonesian archaeological team who were trying to find the origins of the first Australians. Their focus was Liang Bua cave, on the island of Flores, Indonesia. Instead of finding modern... click to read more