Conservation

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

Ocelots have been listed as federally endangered in the U.S. since 1972.

Endangered Ocelots May Be Expanding Their Range in Texas

DNA testing of an ocelot killed in 2021 raises the possibility that the creatures may be roaming outside their established South Texas territory, which is currently their only stronghold in the country

The world's oldest common loons, ABJ and Fe, in July 2020. The pair's 32nd and last hatched chick sits on Fe's back.

Follow the Soap Opera-Worthy Relationship Drama of the World's Oldest Common Loons

Called ABJ and Fe, the duo mated every spring for 25 years—but they split up in 2022. Now, they’re back at their Michigan breeding grounds, showing no signs of getting together

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

Ruben Soto (right), a migrant from Venezuela, sits with Rosa Bello, a Honduran migrant, on top of a freight train known as “The Beast.” Ruben and Rosa met in Mexico and fell in love on their way to the United States.

See 25 Astonishing Images From the World Press Photo Contest

The winning photographs capture moving moments in the midst of tumultuous global events

Visitors left notes, photos and mementos at the base of an oak tree Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl had favored after escaping from the Central Park Zoo. A memorial for Flaco was held there on March 3.

What Flaco the Owl’s Death Teaches Us About Making Cities Safer for Birds

Ornithologists and conservationists say humans can take key steps to make urban environments less hazardous for our avian friends

Captured at the zoo's in-house Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center, the CT scan reassured veterinarians that the chick was doing just fine.

Peek Inside a California Condor Egg Just Before It Hatched, With This CT Scan of the Baby Bird

Last month, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance welcomed its 250th California condor chick in its breeding program, and the CT scan helped determine the bird was well-positioned for hatching

Gray wolves are typically much larger than coyotes.

A Michigan Hunter Thought He Killed a Large Coyote. It Turned Out to Be an Endangered Gray Wolf

Wildlife officials believe the animal was likely the first gray wolf spotted in the southern Lower Peninsula in 100 years

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

A straw-headed bulbul 

How Singapore Became an Unexpected Stronghold for a Critically Endangered Bird

Despite being the smallest country in Southeast Asia, the city-state is now home to the largest population of the straw-headed bulbul

Sun bears are named for a gold crescent on their chest, resembling a rising or setting sun. Each bear’s patch is unique, like a fingerprint.

To Save Sun Bears, Scientists First Have to Find Them

The world's smallest bear plays a crucial role in repairing its tropical habitat in Southeast Asia

The flowers of the toromiro

How Rapa Nui Lost a Tree, Only to Have It Sprout Up Elsewhere

Before the toromiro disappeared from the island, at least two men grabbed seeds from the last remaining plant and brought them home

Hans Holbein the Younger's 1539 portrait of Anne of Cleves before (left) and after (right) conservation

See the Portrait That Made Henry VIII Fall in Love With Anne of Cleves, Newly Restored to Its Former Glory

The Louvre cleaned and conserved Hans Holbein's 1539 likeness of the Tudor queen, revealing its vibrant colors and previously hidden details

Wildlife officials released 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon fry into Fall Creek. A large but unknown number of them died as they passed through a tunnel on the Klamath River.

Hundreds of Thousands of Salmon Die After Release in Northern California's Klamath River

The juvenile Chinook salmon likely died from pressure changes as they swam through an old tunnel in the Iron Gate Dam, slated to be removed this year as part of a massive demolition project

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

Wasabi, which is commonly eaten with sushi, is also an effective preservation tool.

How Wasabi Can Help Preserve Ancient Papyrus

Researchers say the green horseradish-like paste can fight fungal infections without damaging fragile pigments

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

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are two of the giant pandas who lived at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in recent years. They were returned to China in November 2023.

More Giant Pandas Are Coming to the U.S. in a New Loan From China

China plans to send a male and a female panda to the San Diego Zoo as early as this summer, and negotiations are underway for pandas' possible return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

To construct her sculptures, artist Phaan Howng used 3-D prints of plants in the Smithsonian Gardens collection, then mounted them onto a steel armature and base. They were then modified and finished with resin, resin foam, foam air dry clay, EVA foam and acrylic paint.

Fantastical Art Joins Hundreds of Blooming Orchids to Shed Light on Conservation Efforts

Smithsonian Gardens’ 28th annual orchid exhibition is underway at the Kogod Courtyard

A logging road in Montana’s Lolo National Forest. America’s woodlands are carved up by obsolete roads that fragment wildlife habitat and degrade fragile ecosystems. Now ecologists are calling in bulldozers to rip them up.

The Case for Destroying Old Forest Roads

Can demolishing abandoned dirt paths point the way to a more sustainable future?

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