"A cat that befriended a herd of capybaras at a Malaysian zoo is now an official member of their enclosure. Oyen the cat first appeared with the other animals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the capybaras seem to have adopted him as one of their own. With visits spiking as the cat and his new family have gained fame, the zoo has codified his interspecies adoption by putting up a sign reading "Capybaras & Oyen.""

"In 1882, a Seychelles giant tortoise was gifted to William Grey-Wilson, the future governor of St. Helena. The creature was later named Jonathan, and he has since lived to see 30 more governors take office. Based on his size when he arrived on the island, experts believe Jonathan was born no later than 1832 — which means the 191-year-old reptile is both the world's longest living land animal and the oldest known tortoise to ever live."

"Rosemary Hayne, a 39-year-old mother of four, recently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after throwing a burrito bowl in the face of a Chipotle employee because her food looked "disgusting." Judge Timothy Gilligan wanted Hayne to face justice, but he also wanted her to gain "a sense of empathy," so he gave her a choice. She could either face a 90-day jail sentence or spend 30 days behind bars and 60 days working in a fast food restaurant. Hayne chose the second option — and now she will have to spend at least 20 hours per week dealing with fast food customers herself."

"Researchers in Australia were trawling the Winton Formation, a nearly 100 million-year-old geological rock bed, for sauropod bones when they accidentally stumbled upon something remarkable. Preserved in siltstone was about 35 percent of a prehistoric crocodile, including the entire skull. The fossil had been partially crushed, but that damage also revealed dinosaur bones — inside the creature's stomach. It took delicate work with X-rays, CT scans, and computer modeling to recreate the tiny creature inside the crocodile, but eventually, researchers found it was an ornithopod. Small, beaked plant-eaters that lived 100 million years ago, ornithopods were some of the most successful and evolved herbivores of the Cretaceous period — though this one ended up in the belly of a crocodile."

"In mid-August, archaeologists were excavating a medieval site in the Icelandic village of Seyðisfjörður when they made an astonishing discovery. Buried in the floor of an old longhouse was a small animal figurine measuring just an inch tall and two inches long. Carved from volcanic rock, this artifact appears to resemble a bear or a pig, though some have suggested that it could be a dog. Now, researchers believe it was likely a toy, making it a remarkably rare discovery"

"Invasive raccoons with a penchant for beer have been running rampant in Germany, breaking into homes, causing thousands in damage, and even killing some pets. The "unbelievably adaptable" animals, first introduced to the country around 90 years ago, have comfortably adjusted to the country. Efforts have long been underway to curb the raccoon population, but eradication seems out of the question as they've become a "plague in some parts of the country.""

"Researchers in Mexico have found the deepest ocean sinkhole on planet Earth — and it's so deep they haven't even hit the bottom yet. The Taam Ja' Blue Hole is located in Mexico's Chetumal Bay, near the border with Belize and not far from the world-renowned Great Blue Hole. However, with a depth of at least 1,378 feet, Taam Ja' is more than three times deeper than its famous neighbor. What's more, scientists don't even know how much larger that staggering measurement will get, as they couldn't even reach the bottom because their instruments simply couldn't descend that far. But once they do hit the bottom, experts believe they'll find an interconnected labyrinth of caves and tunnels unlike anything ever seen before."

"Researchers in China have uncovered 1,300-year-old cannabis inside the tomb of an ancient warrior. Though cannabis was cultivated widely throughout ancient China for its nutritional value and its seeds were often consumed in a porridge, this particular strain was chosen for its psychoactive properties. Now, this rare discovery is confirming longstanding theories about cannabis' use as a mind-altering drug in ancient China"

"The Perth Museum in Scotland and London's British Museum just restored what is believed to be the only surviving complete example of a kahu kākāpō, a traditional Māori cloak made from the feathers of a flightless parrot native to New Zealand. Kākāpō became critically endangered as settlers hunted the birds for their meat and introduced predators like cats, dogs, and stoats to the islands. The cloak was likely created from the parrots' feathers in the early 19th century and worn by individuals of high status for ceremonial purposes. It was donated to what is now the Perth Museum in 1842, and now restorers have spent more than 100 hours using scalpels and magnifying glasses to return the kahu kākāpō to its former glory.⁠"

"Researchers in Egypt just uncovered the long-lost top half of an enormous limestone statue of Ramses II, one of ancient Egypt's most celebrated rulers. The previously missing portion of the statue stands over 12 feet tall and depicts Ramses II's head, shoulders, and upper torso. He is shown wearing a double crown known as a pschent, signifying the ancient pharaoh's dominion over Egypt, as well as a uraeus, a headdress associated with the goddess Wadjet. When put back together with its lower half — which was discovered in the same area in 1930 by German archaeologists — the statue is expected to be roughly 23 feet tall.⁠"