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US Astronaut to Take her 3-year-old's Cuddly Rabbit Into Space

FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
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US Astronaut to Take her 3-year-old's Cuddly Rabbit Into Space

FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, from Space Launch Complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

When the next mission to the International Space Station blasts off from Florida next week, a special keepsake will be hitching a ride: a small stuffed rabbit.

American astronaut and mother, Jessica Meir, one of the four-member crew, revealed Sunday that she'll take with her the cuddly toy that belongs to her three-year-old daughter.

It's customary for astronauts to go to the ISS, which orbits 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, to take small personal items to keep close during their months-long stint in space.

"I do have a small stuffed rabbit that belongs to my three-year-old daughter, and she actually has two of these because one was given as a gift," Meir, 48, told an online news conference.

"So one will stay down here with her, and one will be there with us, having adventures all the time, so that we'll keep sending those photos back and forth to my family," AFP quoted her as saying.

US space agency NASA says SpaceX Crew-12 will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the orbiting scientific laboratory early Wednesday.

The mission will be replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January, a month earlier than planned, during the first medical evacuation in the space station's history.

Meir, a marine biologist and physiologist, served as flight engineer on a 2019-2020 expedition to the space station and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.

Since then, she's given birth to her daughter. She reflected Sunday on the challenges of being a parent and what is due to be an eight-month separation from her child.

"It does make it a lot difficult in preparing to leave and thinking about being away from her for that long, especially when she's so young, it's really a large chunk of her life," Meir said.

"But I hope that one day, she will really realize that this absence was a meaningful one, because it was an adventure that she got to share into and that she'll have memories about, and hopefully it will inspire her and other people around the world," Meir added.

When the astronauts finally get on board the ISS, they will be one of the last crews to live on board the football field-sized space station.

Continuously inhabited for the last quarter century, the aging ISS is scheduled to be pushed into Earth's orbit before crashing into an isolated spot in the Pacific Ocean in 2030.

The other Crew-12 astronauts are Jack Hathaway of NASA, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

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Study: Despite Reputation, Bonobos Are Aggressive

A chimpanzee looks on at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
A chimpanzee looks on at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
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Study: Despite Reputation, Bonobos Are Aggressive

A chimpanzee looks on at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
A chimpanzee looks on at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where rescued primates are rehabilitated in Western Area Peninsula National Park, Sierra Leone, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Historically considered a more peaceful species than their chimpanzee cousins, bonobos are actually just as aggressive -- but target their ire most often at males, according to a study published Wednesday.

Living in matriarchal societies, the gentle-eyed primates once dubbed "hippy apes" are far from violence-free, a group of European researchers reported in the journal Science Advances.

They studied 13 groups of bonobos and nine groups of chimpanzees -- who conversely live in patriarchal systems and are well known for their aggressivity -- in zoos, seeking to find out which is more prone to attacks.

Measuring different types of aggressive behavior, both physical and not -- such as throwing objects, intimidation, or biting and slapping -- they found "no overall differences in absolute aggression rates between the two species."

However, differences emerged "in how the aggression is distributed among group members," co-author Nicky Staes told AFP.

"In chimpanzees aggression mostly comes from males and is directed towards both males and females, whereas in bonobos aggression levels are quite equal in both sexes but are mostly directed at males," she said.

Emile Bryon, another co-author, said that, as bonobos live in female-dominant groups, the fact that both females and males direct most of their aggression toward males surprised researchers.

"Dominant individuals compete amongst each other for resources," he said, so "one could expect aggression among bonobo females. But our study says otherwise."

The relative lack of aggression among female bonobos could be explained by the species' well-studied use of sex to defuse conflicts, or the aggression may be "redirected towards males, who become buffers in the females' competitive dynamics," Bryon said.

The authors noted limitations to their findings due to the apes living in captivity, where food is not as much of a source of tension, but highlighted the variability of aggressiveness in both species.

Some groups of bonobos and chimpanzees appeared particularly prone to violence and others more peaceful, which "suggests that limiting our understanding of a species to a handful of groups can prevent grasping the full species-wide diversity in behavioral expressions," said Bryon.

As our closest primate relatives, the behavior of chimpanzees and bonobos are of particular interest to science.

"There is big debate in evolutionary anthropology whether humans descended from a violent ape or a more cooperative, peaceful one," Staes explained.

The new study suggests that "aggression was likely present in the common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos."

They also show that aggression can vary widely among apes, said Bryon.

"Recognizing this variation and understanding its roots suggests that it can be better understood, managed, and even reduced."

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Red Fox Stows Away on Cargo Ship, Traveling from England to US

This Feb. 19, 2026, photo provided by the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday, March 11 shows a red fox that stowed away on a cargo ship, crossed the Atlantic and is now at the zoo in New York. (Bronx Zoo via AP)
This Feb. 19, 2026, photo provided by the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday, March 11 shows a red fox that stowed away on a cargo ship, crossed the Atlantic and is now at the zoo in New York. (Bronx Zoo via AP)
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Red Fox Stows Away on Cargo Ship, Traveling from England to US

This Feb. 19, 2026, photo provided by the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday, March 11 shows a red fox that stowed away on a cargo ship, crossed the Atlantic and is now at the zoo in New York. (Bronx Zoo via AP)
This Feb. 19, 2026, photo provided by the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday, March 11 shows a red fox that stowed away on a cargo ship, crossed the Atlantic and is now at the zoo in New York. (Bronx Zoo via AP)

This stowaway truly was sly as a fox.

A red fox somehow slipped onto a cargo ship that traveled from Southampton, England, to New York, where the animal is now in the Bronx Zoo’s care.

The zoo said Wednesday that the 11-pound (5-kilogram) male fox appears healthy after early examinations.

“He seems to be settling in well,” Keith Lovett, the zoo's director of animal programs, said by phone. “It’s gone through a lot.”

It's not clear how the animal got on the ship full of automobiles, which left Southampton on Feb. 4, according to the zoo. The ship arrived Feb. 18 at the Port of New York and New Jersey, and officials brought the fox to the zoo the next day. He's estimated to be 2 years old, The Associated Press reported.

Zoo representatives weren't sure how and when the fox was discovered.

Messages seeking those details were sent to government agencies involved with the port.

The species, formally named Vulpes vulpes, is widespread in Europe, Asia, North America and parts of Africa. A long-term home for this fox will be found once he clears some more health screening.

For now, he's in the zoo's veterinary center. Being an omnivore, he's getting a diet of produce, proteins and some biscuit-like items.

Varieties

Saudi Embassy in Egypt Celebrates Flag Day, Honoring National Pride and Identity

This gesture reflects pride in the Saudi flag - SPA
This gesture reflects pride in the Saudi flag - SPA
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Saudi Embassy in Egypt Celebrates Flag Day, Honoring National Pride and Identity

This gesture reflects pride in the Saudi flag - SPA
This gesture reflects pride in the Saudi flag - SPA

The Saudi Embassy in Egypt was proudly adorned with the Flag Day in celebration of this national occasion, which is observed annually on March 11.

This gesture reflects pride in the Saudi flag, a symbol of unity and sovereignty that embodies the values of monotheism, justice, and strength upon which the Saudi state was established, SPA reported.

Decorating the embassy building with the Flag Day demonstrates the commitment of the Kingdom's diplomatic missions abroad to emphasize the significance of this national event and its historical and patriotic importance.

It reaffirms the enduring meanings the Saudi flag holds for the Kingdom's history, identity, and standing in the world.