Beki Hooper
Writer
Beki has a PhD in cognitive evolution and a double master's degree in evolutionary biology. She writes about human and animal evolutionary biology, genetics and genomics, psychology, cognition, conservation and animal ethics.
Recent articles by Beki Hooper
“More than 60% of females gave birth on the same night.” Why do some animals give birth en masse?
This smart reproductive trick can overwhelm predators – or cause a headache for expectant mothers
Could a human have a blood transfusion from a chimpanzee?
If animals have different blood types, then can they be used in blood transfusions?
“It’s classic wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Meet the most cunning and deceptive animals and plants that are masters of deadly disguises
As it turns out, the natural world is full of mischievous mimics...
It’s not a pig and it’s not from Guinea – and it’s bolder, riskier and more sociable than your childhood pet
Guinea pigs do exist in the wild – but they're not like the ones you might have looked after at home...
This microstate borders one of Europe’s most biodiverse mountain ranges but is the least biodiverse country in the world – here’s why
San Marino is a mountainous microstate measuring just 61km2
Breed vs species: what's the difference between these two terms?
The terms are often used interchangeably, but they actually mean different things
9 animals that decapitate their prey in the most gruesome ways – nature at its most brutal
From powerful birds of prey to tiny songbirds, and blind snakes to miniscule flies, an impressive range of species have converged on a single method of killing: decapitation.
Villagers in Mozambique talk to birds to help them hunt. How they do it is amazing
In an astonishing parallel to how human language evolves, communities in Mozambique use different ‘dialects’ to coordinate cooperation with wild birds.
Whales need fresh water to survive. Here’s how these ocean giants manage to drink
How do whales take in enough fresh water while in the sea?
Rats have amazingly vivid dreams – and scientists now know what they’re about
Dreams aren't unique to humans – rats, monkeys and even octopuses might be able to dream
What's the rarest fish on the planet? And can they be saved?
Despite just around 38 left scientists are hopeful these beautiful vibrant blue fish can be saved from extinction
Elephants have 'conveyor belt’ teeth, dolphins grow theirs in layers like trees, while sharks have a never-ending supply - so why are we stuck with just 2 sets?
From baby teeth to ‘conveyor belt’ molars, here’s why humans—and other mammals –grow and replace their teeth in such fascinatingly different ways
Do all gulls live by the sea?
Do animals ever eavesdrop on each other – like us humans do?
How it can be useful for some species to listen into messages from other animals...
10 biggest hearts in the animal kingdom, including one the size of a piano
In the animal kingdom, the creatures with the biggest hearts – relative to their size – are often the tiniest among us.
10 ruthless queens that rule their worlds: Meet the female leaders that like to dominate, including murderess meerkats
From matriarchs who guide entire herds to queens that dominate their hives, the animal kingdom is full of powerful females calling the shots.
8 deadly animals that can kill you in minutes
You want to give these animals a wide berth
It’s not just glow worms or fireflies that glow in the dark… this is the first ever image of a wild marsupial lighting up under UV
Biofluorescence is most common in marsupials such as platypuses and quolls
Scientists extract DNA from 'vampire squid from hell’ – and uncover 300-million-year-old secret
When researchers sequenced the genome of this elusive deep-sea creature, they found clues about how squids and octopuses evolved into so many species.
DNA reveals remarkable new tree toad species in Tanzanian mountains. They do something incredibly unique
Scientists investigating a single species of African toad found more than they
bargained for: three species, all of which give birth to live young.
Weird spider with no eyes found on remote Atlantic island. Arachnologists are baffled
By searching through museum specimens, scientists found two new, and rather peculiar, spiders species from St Helena: one eyeless and another with thick armour.
“If they don’t find a meal within one hour, they might die”: Meet the 10 greediest animals on the planet, who never seem to stop eating
No matter their size, some animals simply need to eat a lot of food in order to survive – here are the greediest animals in the world
Scientists unearthed an ancient jawed fish in western Mongolia – and it upended everything they knew about shark evolution
The partial fossil convinced researchers that an ancestor of sharks evolved a bony skeleton – then lost it
Pandas have evolved an extra body part – and evolutionary experts think it happened when switching to a plant-based diet
When giant pandas switched from eating meat to a mainly plant-based diet, they evolved an extra body part to help them chow down
