The slow loris seems adorable. But its puppy-dog eyes and charming face mask belie its wild nature: These primates can be positively pugnacious, defending territories and offspring with venomous — and sometimes fatal — bites.

Read about the latest research on slow loris venom and behavior at my Animal Minds blog: Why are these Adorable Primates Venomous?

The world’s most critically endangered primate, the Hainan gibbon, is hanging on by a thread. The last surviving population is restricted to a single patch of forest on Hainan Island, China. So when a landslide created a large gap in the canopy of the gibbons’ forest habitat, scientists took action and built them a bridge. Now, they report the results of this conservation intervention. The findings suggest that ‘bridging the gap’ can be a simple and effective way of giving wildlife a helping hand.

Read the story at National Geographic news: Only 30 of these primates remain on Earth. This simple rope bridge may help.

At Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, a bold experiment is playing out to rescue a wilderness on the brink — and demonstrate the powerful role that fear plays in healthy ecosystems.

A new film from NOVA and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios documents one of the most ambitious wildlife recovery projects ever: the reintroduction of African wild dogs into Gorongosa. The project could be a victory for conservation but it’s also an opportunity to test a hypothesis about the role of fear in nature.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Healthy Ecosystems Need Fear.

Why do frogs have the biggest of eyes of any vertebrate in relation to body size? How does eye size relate to a frog's lifestyle? Scientists are starting to uncover the answers.

Check out my Animal Minds blog post: The Secrets of How Frogs See the World.

On the Balearic Islands of Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, a complex relationship has evolved between a lizard and a lily. The dead horse arum is a lily that mimics rotting flesh visually, chemically, and thermally to attract fly pollinators. Balearic lizards come calling, too — and it seems to benefit both lizard and plant.

Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: The Lizard and the Rotting Meat Lily.