Author

Alexander V. Badyaev

A professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, Badyaev is also a regular contributor to several international natural history magazines. His scientific work, nature photography, and popular science writing have been recognized by major international awards and fellowships. Most recently he was a Kavli Fellow of U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a winner of BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.

Alexander V. Badyaev's Latest Articles

During mating season, flying squirrels engage in dizzying aerial acrobatics far exceeding the routine glides typically observed in the laboratory settings.

Moonlight Gliders

By Alexander V. Badyaev

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December 13, 2016

Wintertime in a remote Montana forest heralds the arrival of mating season for the flying squirrel—and one of nature's most spectacular air shows.

lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)

Agave Whisperers

By Alexander V. Badyaev

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September 27, 2016

As they follow—and mentally map—flowering agaves from Arizona to Mexico, lesser long-nosed bats pollinate the plants that bring the world tequila.

New research shows that juvenile beavers master the art of directional tree felling by copying adults in the most advantageous approach to a tree and placement of the initial cut. Here, an adult female and her son from last year alternate in cutting a large Douglas fir near a forested lake in northern Montana in the United States. Cuts at different height on opposite sides of the trunk enable the most efficient and safest tree felling. Still, an adult pauses periodically to assess tree angle and stability. Cameras mounted high in the canopy and fired remotely from about 50 m away, just outside of a tree fall reach, were instrumental in discovering crucial aspects of tree cutting behavior in this beaver colony.

Nature’s Lumberjacks

By Alexander V. Badyaev

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April 26, 2016

Tree-felling is dangerous business, so naturally a mother shows her young kit how it's done.

A pair of grey foxes visit one of the ‘skeleton trees’ in their territory

Skeleton Tree

By Alexander V. Badyaev

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April 26, 2016

Gray foxes climb into the trees to grab a few feet of vertical advantage.