Mammals

A moose moves through the forest.

How Should Colorado Handle Its Booming Moose Population?

Roughly 3,000 animals now roam the state's mountain ranges

160 pilot whales, mainly adult females with several young calves, stranded themsleves in shallow waters on Thursday morning in Western Australia.

Rescuers Save 130 Beached Pilot Whales in Western Australia After Mass Stranding

An additional 29 whales died, officials reported last week, while the reason behind the stranding remains unknown

A variety of plants and animals go through periods where they are dormant or in the dark.

Move Over, Cicadas: These Living Things ‘Go Dark’ For a Long Time, Too

From frogs to orchids, many organisms go dormant or move underground for lengthy stints

Antonia, one of the new black-footed ferret clones. The first black-footed ferret clone was born in 2020. The two new ferrets are the second and third successful clones.

Scientists Clone Two Black-Footed Ferrets From Frozen Tissues in Conservation Effort

The aim of cloning the animals is to increase the genetic diversity of the endangered species

Sea otters float amid a forest of kelp off California’s Central Coast.

Sea Otters Have Helped Bolster California’s Kelp Forest

A study that looks back more than 100 years shows that where the animals have thrived, underwater forests have, too

Sir David Attenborough

How David Attenborough Went From Delighting at the Natural World to Pleading for Its Future

The environmental icon’s latest series, “Mammals,” showcases the threats humanity has created for our relatives

A person has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu just days after livestock across four states were reported to be infected.

First Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas Confirmed, Following Infections in Cattle—Here's What to Know

This marks only the second time in U.S. history that a human has contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza

Eastern coyotes—a subspecies that has coyote, wolf and domestic dog DNA—run in a West Virginia forest.

Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves

The now-famous “virgin” stingray Charlotte is not having hybrid babies, scientists say. But in nature, distinct species sometimes interbreed to produce surprising offspring

This artistic interpretation shows what Pebanista yacuruna might have looked like some 16 million years ago.

New Extinct Species of Giant Dolphin Discovered in Peru From a 16-Million-Year-Old Skull

Pebanista yacuruna is the largest freshwater dolphin ever found, but it is more closely related to today's river dolphins of South Asia than those in the Amazon

An elephant seal pup on South Georgia Island

Why Did Seals and Sea Lions Never Commit to a Life Fully at Sea?

While whales moved from living on land to an existence immersed in water, pinnipeds embraced an amphibious lifestyle

Beluga whales are one of five species of whale that undergo menopause. The new study finds that females in these five species live decades longer than females of similarly sized species.

Whales That Go Through Menopause Live Longer and May Help Care for Grandchildren

Alongside humans, five species of toothed whales are known to experience menopause. A new study suggests they evolved the trait to increase their lifespan

For rabbits and hares, females typically weigh more than males, according to a new study.

For Most Mammal Species, Males Actually Aren't Larger Than Females, Study Finds

New research upends a long-held theory that male mammals tend to be bigger than their female counterparts

Asian elephants were observed burying calves between 3 months and 1 year old that had died after experiencing infections and malnutrition.

Asian Elephants Bury Their Dead, New Research Suggests

In India, five dead calves were found buried on their backs in irrigation ditches, with evidence that multiple herd members had participated in the burials

Some researchers say that "bringing back" woolly mammoths could help protect frozen tundras by slowing the melting of permafrost.

Scientists Grow Elephant Stem Cells in Key Step Toward Woolly Mammoth 'De-Extinction'

The team's lofty goal of "resurrection" is still far from reality, but scientists say the advancement in understanding cells could help with elephant conservation

The gray whale was spotted during an aerial survey on March 1, about 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

A Rare Gray Whale, Believed Extinct in the Atlantic for 200 Years, Has Been Spotted off New England

Scientists say a lack of Arctic sea ice due to climate change could have created a passageway for the mammal to travel from the Pacific Ocean

Maui-based photographers Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano spent about 30 minutes observing and photographing two male humpback whales on January 19, 2022.

These Photos Are the First to Show Humpback Whales Mating—and Both Are Males

Photographers spotted the interaction in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Maui in 2022

An orca hunting sea lion pups on an Argentinian beach in 2006. Before the recent study, killer whales had only been observed hunting white sharks in groups.

Single Orca Spotted Killing a Great White Shark for the First Time Ever

In less than two minutes, the marine mammal attacked a juvenile white shark and ripped out its liver in an encounter off the coast of South Africa last year

Without enough food, humpback whales become thinner, more susceptible to disease and less likely to reproduce.

7,000 Humpback Whales May Have Starved to Death During the 'Blob' Heatwave

The unprecedented marine heat between 2013 and 2016 in the North Pacific likely drove the whales' 20 percent decline, a trend revealed by citizen science observations

An adult humpback whale and calf. In the new study, the researchers blew air into the larynxes of three deceased whales, including a humpback, to learn how the the organ makes sound.

Scientists Discover How Some Whales Can Sing While Holding Their Breath Underwater

Baleen whales have evolved unique voice boxes essential for song, a new study finds—but these low-frequency vocalizations must compete with the noise of humans' ships

Northern gannets plunge into the water to hunt in Shetland. This image won the British Waters Wide Angle category.

See 15 Otherworldly Images From the Underwater Photographer of the Year Awards

A hunting monkey, 'kissing' scorpionfish and playful dolphins feature in just a few of the 130 striking photographs distinguished with honors in the competition

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