Animals

Chincoteague ponies take a moment to graze after swimming across the Assateague Channel in 2015.

New Vaccine Offers Hope in Chincoteague Ponies' Battle Against Swamp Cancer

Over the past three years, the disease has claimed the lives of seven of the famously resilient ponies

Featured insects include the Picasso moth, the violin beetle, the green milkweed grasshopper and the cuckoo wasp.

The World's Most Interesting Insects

A new title from Smithsonian Books highlights the diversity of Earth's 10 to 100 million insect species

An artist's rendering of a fossil frog found on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Paleontologists Find Antarctica’s First Frog Fossil

The find could help pin down when the South Pole turned icy

Despite Their Differences, Dogs and Horses Find Common Ground in Play

Canine-equid pairs can mimic each other’s facial expressions during play, which has never been seen between animals of different species

Young leatherback sea turtles.

COVID-19 Restrictions May Boost Leatherback Sea Turtle Nesting

Beaches in Florida and Thailand have tentatively reported increases in nests, due to decreased human presence. But the trend won’t necessarily persist

Prickles, a barefaced merino sheep who went unshorn for seven years after fleeing her home in Tasmania during a spate of 2013 bushfires

Prickles the Sheep Returns Home After Seven Years on the Lam(b)

After missing years of shears, the voluminous creature had ballooned to about five times the size of a typical sheep

Some rough-skinned newts host bacteria on their skin that produce the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin to keep predators at bay.

Toxic Newts Use Bacteria to Become Deadly Prey

Scientists discover neurotoxin-producing bacteria living on the skin of rough-skinned newts

The list covers findings in biology, justice and human rights, the environment, and more.

Fifty Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since the First Earth Day

On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since

Bald Eagles Found Nesting in Arizona Saguaro Cactus for First Time in Decades

The prickly perch is an exciting sign of success for the birds, which came off the endangered species list in 2007

7,000-year-old dog feces from China's Anhui province

Artificial Intelligence Gives Researchers the Scoop on Ancient Poop

The computer program can identify canine versus human feces based on DNA sequences in samples

A male lemur with clearly visible scent glands on its wrists.

For Male Lemurs, Love Stinks—and Scientists Now Know Why

A newly identified trio of chemicals may help the primates find a mate

Research suggests humans can occasionally pass the new coronavirus to cats. But felines are very unlikely to be a source of transmission back to humans.

Why the New Coronavirus Affects Some Animals, but Not Others

While the virus seems capable of infecting some pets and wild animals, these cases probably aren’t occurring often

The Mayor, a crested gecko, takes a feet-on approach to appreciating art.

Miniature Gecko Art Gallery Premieres on the Heels of Viral London Gerbil Museum

The creator behind the reptilian repertoire hopes many more pet museums are in the works

Flamingos mingle in a small group at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in England.

Flamingos in Captivity Pick Favorite Friends Among the Flock

These cliques wear pink every day of the week

Fragments of a large early Neolithic vessel that was likely used to process meat stew

Traces of Millennia-Old Milk Help Date Pottery Fragments to Neolithic London

These dairy products are no longer edible, but they're still valuable to researchers

Some dolphins are shy, too.

Wild Dolphins Seem to Have a Range of Personalities

From shy to bold with shades in between, dolphin personalities are surprisingly similar to ours

A team of researchers has discovered carefully buried Iron Age chicken and hare bones that show no signs of butchery.

Hares and Chickens Were Revered as Gods—Not Food—in Ancient Britain

New research indicates that Iron Age Britons venerated brown hares and chickens long before modern Easter celebrations

With fluorescent dye, biologist Tagide deCarvalho beautifully illuminated the insides of a tardigrade.

Colorful Image Lights Up Microscopic Guts of 'Water Bear'

Biologist Tagide deCarvalho created this award-winning image of the tardigrade using fluorescent stains

The Atlanta Humane Society has taken some of their kittens and puppies to the Georgia Aquarium to get a break from quarantine.

Animals Are Taking Adorable Field Trips During Quarantine

With many zoos and aquariums closed to the public, keepers let animals roam empty hallways to meet their neighbors

This siphonophore may be the longest ever recorded.

Watch This Giant, Eerie, String-Like Sea Creature Hunt for Food in the Indian Ocean

Researchers shared a video of this massive siphonophore, one of the longest of its kind ever recorded

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