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Forests

Located in Sherwood Forest, the Major Oak failed to produce leaves this spring and is now presumed dead.

Major Oak, the 1,200-Year-Old Tree with Ties to the Robin Hood Legend, Is Presumed Dead After Failing to Produce Leaves

The legendary bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is said to have used the massive tree as a hideout while running from the sheriff of Nottingham

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America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

Some Presidents Offer More Than Just Policy. Here Are Five Who Brought Their Innovative Spirit to the Office

One president invented campaign buttons so he could just stay home during election season. Another one rallied Americans to go to the moon. And one—only one—holds a patent.

A young male bongo photographed in Maasai Mau, Kenya

Trail Camera Photos Capture Rare Antelopes in a Kenya Forest Where Conservationists Once Feared They Had Vanished

Fewer than 100 mountain bongos are thought to live in the wild, and the new discovery reveals a crucial habitat for the critically endangered creatures

By combining ecological data-gathering with philosophical contemplation, Leopold bridged the art and science of conservation.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

In the Early 1900s, a Young Ecologist Shot a Wolf and Watched the Life Leave Its Eyes. That Changed His Position on Conservation

Aldo Leopold’s writing reconsidered the place of humans in the natural world and challenged people to be less conquerors of the land and more citizens of it

In February 2020, naturalist guides Lizardo Proaño and Juan Carlos Narváez photographed a harvestman eating a live frog during a night hike at Mashpi Lodge in Ecuador.

Daddy Longlegs Seem to Hunt Frogs in South America, Revealing the Gangly Arachnids as Overlooked Predators

A new study suggests that harvestmen actively attack the slippery amphibians, rather than just scavenging them. The findings hint that the spineless creatures have a more complex relationship with vertebrates than previously thought

This Socorro dove recently hatched at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Conservationists have been undertaking a decades-long effort to breed the extinct-in-the-wild species and one day reintroduce it to its native Socorro Island in Mexico.

New, Rare Dove Hatchlings Are a ‘Source of Hope’ for the Extinct-in-the-Wild Birds and a Step Forward in the Ambitious Project to Save Them

The Socorro dove has not been recorded in the wild since 1972, but that could change within only a few years, conservationists say, thanks to a long-term reintroduction effort

Two Alpine ibexes butt heads, slamming their horns together in a powerful battle that can be heard from far away. They wandered up the slope together afterward.

See 15 Stunning Images That Won the German Society for Nature Photography’s Annual Contest

From a lunging frog to the majestic movements of penguins, the honored photographs capture the wonder of wildlife and beauty of natural landscapes

The sun sets behind the hills of Duluth, Minnesota, creating a warm glow on the shimmering surface of Lake Superior.

These 15 Majestic Photographs Showcase the Beauty of the Great Lakes and Will Make You Fall in Love With the Natural Wonders

The images of Lakes Huron, Erie, Superior, Michigan and Ontario are pulled from submissions to the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

John Smith stumbled upon the ax head when he was walking his dog.

Cool Finds

A Man and His Dog Discovered a 3,400-Year-Old Ax Head While Out for a Walk in One of England’s Ancient Forests

Researchers believe the ax dates to between 1400 B.C.E. and 1275 B.C.E. and is a relic of the Bronze Age, when humans started to work with metal

Volunteers have played a vital role in SERC's Functional Forests project. They've helped plant trees, put up deer fencing and mapped the tree locations with bamboo stakes, among other duties.

The Planet Needs Prosperous Forests. These Scientists Are Planting More Than 33,000 Trees to Find the Perfect Species Blends

Forests provide myriad benefits, including timber, wildlife attraction, local cooling and climate resilience. At the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, ecologists are testing which tree combinations might create flourishing woodlands

A camera set up by the conservation organization Panthera captured a healthy male jaguar in the Sierra del Merendón mountain range.

A Rare ‘Cloud Jaguar’ Was Spotted in Honduran Mountains for the First Time in a Decade, Representing a Win for Conservationists

The big cats are rarely seen at high elevations, so the sighting suggests that efforts to protect a wildlife corridor in the region are working

In laboratory studies, coronae emit a faint blue light from the tips of spruce needles. In nature, ambient light drowns out this glow, so researchers used a special camera to detect invisible, ultraviolet emissions. 

Treetops Emit Ultraviolet Sparkles During Thunderstorms. Researchers Just Filmed It in Nature for the First Time

The weather events probably cause the air around leaves to produce weak electrical discharges

Male white-tailed deer rub their heads on trees and urinate on scraped-up earth to leave "signposts," which glow under ultraviolet light, a study suggests.

When Male Deer Mark Trees, Those Spots May Glow Like Neon Lights at Dusk and Dawn, Though Humans Usually Can’t See Them

During the breeding season, white-tailed deer might use their eyes and noses to navigate signs—forehead secretions on trees and urine on the ground—left by males of their species, a study suggests

The newfound "fairy lantern" species in its natural habitat in Malaysia

A Rare, Parasitic ‘Fairy Lantern’ Plant Species Was Discovered in Malaysia. It Might Be Critically Endangered

The plant was first spotted near a popular picnic site within a forest. But subsequent surveys have found fewer than 20 individuals of the species, named Thismia selangorensis

Nineteen-year-olds Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça are developing a robot capable of reaching and reforesting areas where humans have been unable to.

Two College Students Are Building a Robot to Replant Burned Forests

Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça invented Trovador, a four-legged, A.I.-powered robot that can plant trees in hard-to-reach, wildfire-damaged terrain

A population of black-and-white ruffed lemurs on Madagascar is experiencing changes in the cadence of its breeding, researchers say.

Lemurs Are Having a Mysterious ‘Baby Boom’ in Madagascar. Here’s Why That Might Not Be a Good Thing

Researchers are investigating a sudden spike in pregnancies in one black-and-white ruffed lemur population that might signal environmental stress to the mammals

Camels evolved into a range of shapes and sizes, including small forms like these Stenomylus on display at the American Museum of Natural History.

Meet the Extinct Camels of North America, From Ice Age Giants to Sheep-Size Runners

Largely outshone by fossils of horses, the earliest camels are getting another look from scientists determined to sort out the relationships and adaptations of these “absolutely bonkers” herbivores

An aerial view of the Amazon rainforest near Manaus, Brazil

New Research

The Amazon’s Trees Might Be More Resilient to Climate Change Than We Thought

A team of nearly 100 researchers found the average tree size in the massive rainforest has increased by more than 3 percent per decade since the 1970s

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Zagreb’s Backyard Wilderness Is Calling—Here’s How to Experience It

Just outside Croatia’s capital, Medvednica Nature Park invites travelers into a year-round world of alpine trails, rich biodiversity, hearty mountain fare, and deep-rooted history

The only human development on Tetepare is a small research center and ecolodge on the western corner of the island, which is otherwise covered in lush rainforest and lined by coral reefs and meadows of seagrass.

Why Is Tetepare the South Pacific’s Largest Uninhabited Island?

Descendants of the island’s former inhabitants struggle to balance environmental conservation with sustaining their community’s livelihoods

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