TWO-HEADED GECKO NAMED SIMON AND GARFUNKEL DEFIES ODDS OF SURVIVAL

New York Post

 

Two-headed gecko named Simon and Garfunkel defies odds of survival

By Reda Wigle

Published July 29, 2026, 11:33 a.m. ET

 

The Keystone State is twice as nice after a rare two-headed gecko was hatched this summer.

 

The tiny, twin-headed crested gecko made its debut on June 29th at Rockstar Geckos, a breeding business based in northeastern Pennsylvania.

 

“This little one was a surprise!” Rockstar Geckos posted on Instagram, alongside a video of the dual-domed gecko.

 

Multiple heads, also known as polycephaly, is generally caused by malformation of a developing embryo due to either genetic or environmental factors.

 

“We’ve only had this happen once before in all our years hatching babies. Unfortunately, they don’t often live that long, but we will do our best,” the reptile dealer continued.

 

Christened Simon and Garfunkel, the geckos have defied the odds by surviving.

 

“They move around pretty well even though it appears they each want to go in separate directions sometimes,” Rockstar Geckos said in a two-week update posted in early July.

 

In cases of polycephalic animals, each animal has its own brain, and control of the organs and limbs is shared.

 

In addition, vital organs are often malformed or strained.

 

Often, the brains “argue” with one another in an attempt to establish dominance, resulting in disoriented movement that makes them easy targets for predators.

 

However, according to the most recent update, Simon and Garfunkel are living their best lizard lives and have begun coordinating their movements, and neither head currently appears dominant.

 

“Here they are at 4 weeks old!” posted Rockstar Geckos, explaining that Simon and Garfunkel are still just1.8 grams, roughly 0.063 ounces.

 

“‘It’s hard to grasp until you see them next to a fingernail,” they added to illustrate.

 

Native to New Caledonia, crested geckos are tree-dwelling lizards that can reach 8-10 inches and 35 to 45 grams when fully grown.

 

Rockstar Geckos shared that both Simon and Garfunkel are eating independently and without assistance.

 

Further, they reported that there is no fighting between the two and that the heads are positioned so they can’t attack each other.

 

Animal fans have flooded the comments section with words of encouragement.

 

“I’m rooting for these babies! I’ve been following their story since day one!” said one

 

“I’m completely obsessed with the twins; they are just so adorable, and it’s great seeing them doing so well,” said another.

 

“Hoping they live a healthy, long life!!” underscored a third.

 

The company has promised to share more when the geckos reach five weeks.

 

Although most commonly observed in turtles and snakes — such as the two-headed rat snake, Tiger-Lily, whose ovarian surgery ordeal was broadcast to the world earlier this year — polycephaly has been documented in every critter from fish to pigs.

 

One of the most remarkable examples in the annals of zoological oddities was a bilobed billy goat that became a worldwide sensation due to its resemblance to the Greek god Janus.

SOME DOGS CAN LEARN WORDS BY EAVESDROPPING, ACCORDING TO STUDY

PEOPLE

 

Some Dogs Can Learn Words by Eavesdropping, According to New Study

By Becca Longmire  Published on January 9, 2026 12:47PM EST

 

Some dogs have the ability to learn words by eavesdropping on their owners' interactions, similar to how a toddler would pick up on things from their parents, a new study has found.

 

Researchers made the discovery after working with a group of "Gifted Word Learner (GWL) Dogs," per a piece published by the journal Science on Thursday, Jan. 8. The study suggested that the group of pups pick up on certain words just like a 1.5-year-old toddler would.

 

An abstract read, "Children as young as 18 months can acquire novel words by overhearing third-party interactions," adding, "Demonstrating similar learning processes in nonhuman species would indicate that the social-cognitive skills supporting this process are not exclusively human but may have evolved, or can develop, in other species, offering valuable insights into the origins of language-related cognition."

 

"In this study, we demonstrated that a small group of Gifted Word Learner dogs, which possess an extensive vocabulary of object labels, can learn new labels by overhearing their owners’ interactions," it continued.

 

"Moreover, we show that these dogs can acquire novel object-label mappings even when the labels and objects are not presented simultaneously. Taken together, these results suggest that Gifted Word Learner dogs possess sociocognitive skills functionally parallel to those of 18-month-old children," the message shared.

 

Per a press release obtained by PEOPLE, the research team tested 10 of the dogs in two experiments. The first test saw owners introduce two new toys and repeatedly label them while interacting directly with the dog, before the dogs then passively watched as their owners spoke to another person about the toys, without addressing the dog at all, in a second situation.

 

"Overall, in each condition, the dogs heard the name of each new toy for a total of only eight minutes, distributed across several brief exposure sessions. To test whether the dogs had learned the new labels, the toys were placed in a different room, and the owners asked the dogs to retrieve each toy by name," the release noted, adding that "in both conditions, seven out of 10 dogs learned the new labels."

 

The study found that the "dog’s performance was very accurate already at the first trials of the test, with 80% correct choices in the addressed condition and 100% in the overhearing condition," per the release, which added that the findings mirrored those from infant studies.

 

A second experiment then saw owners first show the dogs the toys, before placing them inside a bucket, naming them only when they were out of the pups’ sight.

 

"This created a temporal separation between seeing the object and hearing its name. Despite this discontinuity, most of the Gifted dogs successfully learned the new labels," the release stated.

 

Lead scientist Dr. Shany Dror, from the University for Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, said, “Our findings show that the socio-cognitive processes enabling word learning from overheard speech are not uniquely human,” adding, “Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children,” per the release.

 

Dror added, “These dogs provide an exceptional model for exploring some of the cognitive abilities that enabled humans to develop language,” insisting, “But we do not suggest that all dogs learn in this way - far from it.”

 

The release noted that GWL dogs are "extremely rare" and "their remarkable abilities likely reflect a combination of individual predispositions and unique life experiences."

FLORIDA ALLIGATOR ATTACK VICTIM BRITTANY CLARK DID NEARLY EVERYTHING RIGHT TO AVOID FATAL MAULING

New York Post

Florida alligator victim Brittany Clark did nearly everything right to avoid fatal mauling: expert

By Anthony Blair

Published July 2, 2026, 6:15 p.m. ET

The victim of a deadly alligator attack in Florida did almost everything right before she was killed when the animal ripped her apart, according to a wildlife

expert.

Brittany Clark, 31, was swimming in the Econlockhatchee River at Little Big Econ State Forest on Sunday afternoon after a hike with her boyfriend when

the alligator suddenly attacked her.

Conservation biologist and experienced alligator handler Joseph Wasilewski told The Post that the California native hadn’t taken unnecessary risks — but

warned of the dangers of entering the water in Florida.

Clark was attacked at around 1:30 p.m. — in the middle of the day — which Wasilewski said is the safer time to get in the water.

“It’s more dangerous at dawn and dusk,” Wasilewski — who has worked with and studied alligators and crocodiles for over 50 years — told The Post.

The Florida-based biologist also stressed the importance of having someone on lookout if you do go swimming.

“I personally would only swim during the heat of the day in an area that other people are watching,” he said.

“If you do go in the water, make sure you have someone standing by watching,” he said. “Have someone on the shore that’ll watch, because if there’s an

alligator, they’ll see it coming.”

Wasilewski explained that he had experience himself in supervising dives in crocodile- or alligator-infested waters.

However, he added that the person on lookout doesn’t need to be an expert on the animals.

“It’d be nice if there was an expert, but there’s not a lot of crocodile and alligator experts,” Wasilewski said.

“Just have somebody with common sense as a watch out… an adult that knows right from wrong and good from bad,” he added.

Wasilewski believes that the alligator that killed Clark was likely defending its territory, as June and July mark the nesting season for the giant reptiles.

He also said he was stunned to discover the size of the alligator — which he said was bigger than any he’d ever come across in his decades of working with

them.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 13-footer in the wild, and I’ve seen tens of thousands of them,” the expert said.

But Wasilewski had a clear answer on how to stay safe in the water in Florida.

“You can quote me on this: stay the hell out,” he warned.

Clark’s dad, Robert Clark, previously told The Post that his daughter was with her boyfriend, her roommate, and their dogs on that fateful day.

He insisted that his daughter “did know about wildlife” and the potential for an alligator to be in the water there.

Brittany Clark’s devastated friend — who was with her at the time — said that the pair had joked about an alligator just moments before the deadly attack.

Jayden Hernandez wrote in a Facebook post, in part: “There were air bubbles within our little triangle we made with our bodies in the water and I commented

on how it might be a sneaky gator and Chance, Brittany’s boyfriend swam right over it to show nothing was there and nothing was there.

“Britt literally commented on how she thought he was gonna act like he got attacked and we just laughed because chance would never do that because he’s

an amazing person and I know he is because she chose him and only one amazing strong soul chooses someone just as strong as it’s own. It was just a joke…

“And just a few minutes later my bestfriend got attacked.”

Clark’s boyfriend, Chance Allison, can be heard in the harrowing 911 call made as they desperately tried to save her begging operators to “please hurry.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

A FWC spokesman previously told The Post: “Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida.

“The FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address complaints concerning specific

alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.”

The spokesman added that when the FWC receives calls to its Nuisance Alligator Hotline, it dispatches contracted nuisance alligator trappers to resolve

the situation.

Between 1948 and 2025, the FWC recorded a total of 500 unprovoked bites in Florida, of which 32 resulted in fatalities, Click Orlando reported.

A GoFundMe page, set up by Clark’s aunt, Gena Smith, to help with returning her body to California, has so far raised more than $11,000.

KITTEN SURVIVES BEING STUCK IN CAR GRILL FOR OVER 100 MILES

PEOPLE

 

Kitten Survives Road Trip While Stuck In Car Grill for More Than 100 Miles

By Angel Saunders  Published on May 27, 2026 10:59PM EDT

 

A kitten was found safe and sound inside a vehicle that made quite the trek.

 

“This morning, our police department received an unusual call: a baby kitten was found stuck in the grill of a resident’s car in Kennedy Highlands,” the Kennedy Township Police Department said in a statement shared to Facebook on Tuesday, May 26.

 

One of the officers held a pet carrier while road department workers Jim Gallagher and Todd Castlevetter lay on the ground, reaching underneath the vehicle to help the feline.

 

“Unbeknownst to the driver, the kitten had climbed into the grill while he was in Breezewood and made the entire trip home tucked inside,” the statement continued.

 

“The little traveler was safely rescued,” the department said. “A big thank‑you to everyone involved for their care and effort.”

 

A second photo was a close-up image of the kitten watching someone snap its picture while it was curled up inside the pet carrier.

 

Kennedy Township Police Chief Anthony Bruni didn’t identify the driver, but the individual was coming from Maryland, and had stopped for a snack in Breezewood before making it to Kennedy Township, driving over 100 miles through Pennsylvania, per CBS Pittsburgh.

 

As if the drive weren’t long enough, it wasn’t until the following morning when the motorist heard the stowaway meowing.

 

"Several individuals gathered around his car and advised him that a cat had walked under his car, a kitten," Bruni told CBS Pittsburgh. "He looked under his car, he checked around, he didn't see any cats. He figured the kitten had probably just wandered away."

 

Since the rescue, the kitten is being fostered by the driver’s next-door neighbor, who may eventually place the animal up for adoption.

 

The kitten is being cared for for the time being, and was even given an adorable name inspired by the starting point of its road trip.

 

"Breezy, after Breezewood," Bruni told CBS Pittsburgh with a laugh.

HOW UGANDA'S LARGEST WILD CHIMPANZEE COMMUNITY SPLINTERED INTO A DEADLY CIVIL WAR

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 

How Uganda’s Largest Wild Chimpanzee Community Splintered Into a Deadly Civil War

By Ryan Brennan

April 10, 2026 1:30 PM

 

For decades, the Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park were the largest known wild chimpanzee community — nearly 200 individuals living, grooming, hunting and patrolling together as one society.

 

Then, slowly and then suddenly, they turned on each other.

 

What followed was a years-long civil war that left dozens dead and split the community in two.

 

Scientists say permanent chimpanzee community fissions are exceedingly rare — genetic evidence suggests they happen roughly once every 500 years. Researchers happened to be watching when this one occurred.

 

Their findings were published in the journal Science on April 9.

 

The Chimpanzees Were Once Unified and Friendly

 

Researchers began tracking the Ngogo group in 1995, when the community numbered over 100.

 

Over the following years, it swelled to nearly 200 individuals, including more than 30 adult males — possibly straining the group’s capacity to maintain relationships.

 

Social ties clustered around three groups: Western, Central and Eastern. Despite that clustering, the chimps functioned as one community. They shared territory, mated across clusters and conducted joint border patrols and hunts.

 

Highly respected individuals served as “social bridges” connecting the cliques.

 

Then, in 2014, five adult males died, likely from disease. Several of them were key social bridges — and their loss weakened the connective tissue holding the community together.

 

A new alpha male was crowned around the same time, adding to the tension that eventually led to a civil war.

 

The Moment ‘All Hell Broke Loose’

 

On June 24, 2015, researcher Aaron Sandel was observing the Ngogo chimps when a Western party approached a Central party near the center of their shared territory.

 

Instead of mingling as usual, the Western chimps fell silent and fled. The Central chimps chased them.

 

An unprecedented six-week period of avoidance followed. John Mitani, with two decades of chimp research, was stunned. It was during that period that “all hell broke loose,” Mitani recalled, per the New York Times.

 

From there, the Western and Central clusters interacted less and less. Mating occurred only within each cluster. By 2017, the two groups held entirely separate territories, and the former center of the community became a patrolled border.

 

That same year, Western chimps attacked and severely injured the alpha male of the Central cluster.

 

The Civil War Turns Violent — and Deadly

 

By 2018, the split became permanent — socially, spatially and reproductively. Females and offspring would no longer even feed at the same fig tree.

 

The violence was devastating. Western chimps killed seven adult males and 17 infants from the Central cluster. 14 more Central males disappeared without a trace, likely also killed.

 

In 2021, the violence escalated to infanticide, with 14 Central infants stolen and killed. Among the named victims was Basie, a 36-year-old Central male who was encircled and killed in 2019.

 

At least two more attacks have been documented since data analysis ended in 2024.

 

What Caused the Chimpanzee Civil War?

 

The researchers theorized that social relationships broke down under multiple pressures.

 

Suspected stressors included the unusually large group size straining relationship maintenance, competition over food and reproduction, alpha male turnover amplifying tensions and disease deaths removing key social bridges.

 

Within any chimp group, violence flares occasionally — but it is usually dampened by long friendships. When the bridges fell, there was nothing left to contain it.

 

The Ngogo split was not entirely without precedent.

 

Jane Goodall observed something similar in Gombe, Tanzania, in the 1970s — a four-year lethal split among about two dozen chimps. Critics dismissed it as an artifact of Goodall feeding the chimps bananas.

 

Ngogo confirms it wasn’t a fluke. Sandel said this is “the first time that you could say definitively that the civil war is actually happening.”

 

The Gombe split was preceded by the same warning signs: clustering, reproductive competition, alpha male changes and deaths of bridging males.

 

A community of 200 didn’t collapse because of any single dramatic event. It collapsed because the quiet, invisible scaffolding of friendships gave way — one death, one missed grooming session, one avoided encounter at a time.

 

The Ngogo story is a reminder that even among our closest living relatives, the bonds that hold a society together can be far more fragile than they appear.

111 THOUSAND SPIDERS BUILT A WEB ACROSS TWO COUNTRIES

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 

111,000 Spiders Built a Web Across Two Countries and Yes, It's as Terrifying as It Sounds

By Ryan Brennan

March 31, 2026 12:30 PM

 

Picture a spiderweb roughly half the size of a tennis court. Now put it deep inside a cave that straddles the border of two countries — and fill it with 111,000 spiders from two species that normally eat each other.

 

That’s exactly what researchers found inside the Sulfur Cave in the Vromoner Canyon, located on the border of Greece and Albania.

 

Their findings, published in the journal Subterranean Biology in October 2025, describe what might be the world’s largest spiderweb — and the bizarre truce happening inside it.

 

A Blanket-Like Spiderweb Hidden in Total Darkness

 

The web was first observed in 2021 by cavers from the Czech Speleological Society. Marek Audy, who originally discovered the spiderweb, described it as “dense” and “like a blanket.”

 

Located 50 meters (164 feet) from the cave entrance in a permanently dark section, the web stretches along a narrow, low-ceilinged passage and measures 106 square meters (1,140 square feet).

 

According to Audy, it’s built from a multi-layered patchwork of individual funnels that form a spongy mass.

 

“When there’s danger, the female crawls back and hides, and no creature of a higher order can dig her out of there,” Audy said.

 

Two Unlikely Spider Species Living In Harmony

 

Here’s where it gets truly strange. Researchers estimated spider numbers by counting individual web funnels and collecting specimens for further analysis.

 

What they found were two species sharing the web: roughly 69,000 Tegenaria domestica (barn funnel weavers, also known as common house spiders) and 42,000 Prinerigone vagans spiders.

 

Under normal circumstances, barn funnel weavers prey on the smaller Prinerigone vagans. So why aren’t they attacking each other?

 

Researchers believe the cave’s poor lighting impairs the spiders’ vision, creating an unlikely truce between the species.

 

Dr. Lena Grinsted, a senior lecturer at the U.K.’s University of Portsmouth who was not a part of the study, offered some context.

 

“Spiders, in general, are not particularly good at seeing stuff … and that includes these two species,” she told the Associated Press.

 

There’s also the matter of food. An estimated 2.4 million midge flies buzz around the Sulfur Cave spider colony, giving the spiders a never-ending supply of food.

 

Researchers think the food supply, combined with the darkness, limits the hostility between species.

 

“So often if you have spiders in close vicinity, they will fight and end up eating each other,” said Dr. Grinsted. “We can sometimes see that if there’s an abundance of food that they sort of become a bit less aggressive.”

 

Still, don’t imagine these spiders as friendly neighbors.

 

While the spiders likely work together in building the web, Grinsted said it’s “highly unlikely that they cooperate in anything else like prey capture, in brood care, or looking after each other’s babies.”

 

A Spider Colony With Similar, Yet Different, Relatives

 

Upon further analysis, researchers discovered something else surprising: the spiders inside the cave are genetically different from those found outside.

 

“The DNA is interesting because they revealed that the species which live inside the cave is different from the one which lives outside the cave,” Dr.

 

Blerina Vrenozi, a biologist and zoologist at the University of Tirana in Albania who co-authored the study, told the Associated Press. “So it’s the same species, but different DNA,” she added.

 

Their sulfur-rich diet has significantly reduced the diversity of their gut microbiomes. Both findings suggest the colony does not mix with outside spider populations — they’ve adapted exclusively to cave life.

 

So the next time a cobweb in the corner of your ceiling gives you a shiver, consider this: somewhere beneath the mountains between Greece and Albania, 111,000 spiders are quietly coexisting in total darkness.

 

And the blanket of silk they’ve been creating is rewriting the rules of spider behavior.