Wildlife

Bei Bei visits the vet.

A Beary Happy First Birthday to Bei Bei. Unbearably Cute Celebrations Are in Store

America's sweetheart celebrates his birthday this weekend at the National Zoo

Canada

This 400-mile Trail Between the U.S. and Canada Was Planned by a Moose

The new trail will stretch from the Adirondacks in New York to Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario

Just a handful of key animals—mostly charismatic megafauna and a few economically important species—make up the bulk of conservation research efforts.

Scientists Know They Should Really Study Important Bugs but OMG a Baby Cheetah

In conservation science, the cutest animals still get all the attention

Ostrich Feather Hat, 1910-1912

100 Years Later, the First International Treaty to Protect Birds Has Grown Wings

The U.S. and Canada celebrate the centennial of an agreement recognizing that birds see no borders

A nesting male with a female in his nest.

New Research

Give it Up, Sneaky Males: These Lady Fish Have You Outwitted

Female ocellated wrasses have developed a surprising trick to control who fathers their offspring

The fossil Arktocara yakataga (resting on an 1875 ethnographic map of Alaska) belonged to a dolphin that swam in subarctic marine waters around 25 million years ago.

Smithsonian Researchers Uncover Extinct, Ancient River Dolphin Fossil Hiding in Their Own Collections

Sometimes, paleontologists don’t have to go into the field to discover a tantalizing new species

A Secret Refuge for Elk Thought to Be Extinct

As many as 500,000 tule elk once roamed the coast of California, but they were hunted to extinction in the mid-1860s. Or so we thought...

Captive Bactrian deer at The Wilds, a conservation center in Cumberland, Ohio. Until recently, the deer was feared locally extinct in Afghanistan.

Rare Afghan Deer Endures Two Major Wars, Is Ultimate Survivor

Researchers feared the endangered ungulate had gone locally extinct. The Bactrian deer proved them wrong

Age of Humans

These Microbe-Coated Seeds Could Help Us Thrive in a Dark, Dry Future

A Massachusetts-based startup is prepping for your basic apocalyptic scenario

Why Honey Bees Are Crucial Employees at this Airport

A colony of 300,000 honey bees lives just south of Frankfurt Airport. By testing the quality of their honey, scientists can determine pollution levels

Move over, tortoises: These sharks take the prize for oldest living vertebrate.

New Research

These Ridiculously Long-Lived Sharks Are Older Than the United States, and Still Living It Up

The lifespans of these marine methuselahs may double those of oldest living tortoises, a creative dating method finds

The Real Way Komodo Dragons Kill Prey

Komodo dragons aren't physically built to chase after their prey

Why Is This Lizard Doing Push-Ups?

Draco lizards have an interesting technique of performing upper body workouts to get the attention of their potential mates

Temperature-sensitive pikas store grass for winter munching.

Future of Conservation

How Climate Change Will Transform the National Parks’ Iconic Animals and Plants

Dramatic changes may force park managers to choose which species will live, and which will die

Sharks are a broad and diverse group of species, but in the public imagination we tend to treat them all the same.

Humans Have Promoted the Reef Shark to Apex Predator

How these diverse predators ended up getting all the credit

Leopard territory in Southeast Asia has been reduced by 94 percent.

New Research

The Indochinese Leopard Is Down to Just a Few Lives

These threatened cats now occupy just 8 percent of their historic range in Cambodia, new population estimate finds

What Is a Rattlesnake's Rattle Actually Made Of?

Each time rattlesnakes shed their skin, a scale remains behind which, in time, becomes the infamous rattle

An eastern wolf in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park.

Rare Wolf or Common Coyote? It Shouldn't Matter, But It Does

The concept of species is flawed, but it still has a huge bearing on conservation policy

A silverfish

New Research

Richer Homes Are Also Richer in Biodiversity

Scientists find that wealthier neighborhoods sport a greater diversity of bugs

Engraving of a woolly mammoth.

New Research

Solving a Mystery of Mammoth Proportions

Dwindling freshwater sealed the demise of the St. Paul woolly mammoths, and could still pose a threat today

Page 59 of 134