wildlife

In a normal year, about 40,000 people travel to Kearney between March and April to join popular crane festivals. But on March 13, Rowe Sanctuary shut down due to the spread of COVID-19, canceling its tours and closing all trails.

How COVID-19 Is Disrupting Crucial Conservation Efforts

Researchers behind habitat restoration and wildlife protection groups are struggling to continue work amid the pandemic

A mule deer walks down the road in Yosemite Valley

With Humans Away, Animals in National Parks Are Having a Ball

Coyotes, bears and more are enjoying areas usually reserved for crowds of human visitors

A group of Humboldt squid swim in formation about 200 meters below the surface of Monterey Bay

Deep-Sea Squids Glow to Communicate in the Dark

Researchers suggest that the Humboldt squid uses bioluminescent backlighting for visual cues in the dark deep sea

In total, the team’s analysis covered 134 populations and 101 species, including lions, orcas, reindeer, and squirrels.

Females Live Longer Than Males—Among Humans and Other Mammals, Too

A sweeping new study of 101 mammal species found that females live, on average, 18.6 percent longer than their male counterparts

Urban Coyotes Eat a Lot of Garbage—and Cats

A new study shows how city-dwelling coyotes thrive by feasting on human-linked food sources

Pallid bats use relatively low-pitched sounds for echolocation, making them better at hunting in open spaces like grasslands.

California Bats Thrive in Forests Recovering From Wildfires

Wildfires leave behind a patchwork of forest densities that can give bats more room to fly and hunt

The mother lion, her lion cubs and her adopted spotted leopard baby, all got along just fine.

In a 'Bizarre' Biological Twist, a Mother Lion Adopted a Leopard Cub in India

There have been only two other documented instances of interspecies adoption—and never between animals that strongly compete for resources in the wild

Mo‘omomi Preserve on the north coast of the Hawaiian island of Moloka‘i protects a dune ecosystem that boasts rare coastal species.

Hawai‘i's Last Dunes Are Home to Species Found Nowhere Else on the Planet

A nature preserve on Moloka‘i reveals rare life forms—some ancient and others just newly established

Station Squabble by Sam Rowley

See Squabbling Subway Mice and Other Top Wildlife Photos

The Natural History Museum in London has announced the top five honorees in its LUMIX People’s Choice Award competition

The blue-throated barbet, illustrated here in 1871, is native to southern Asia.

You Can Now Download 150,000 Free Illustrations of the Natural World

The artworks, collected by the open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, range from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies

A wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) taking off for flight, carrying a GPS tracker that can detect radar emitted from ships.

Albatrosses Outfitted With GPS Trackers Detect Illegal Fishing Vessels

By utilizing the majestic birds to monitor huge swaths of the sea, law enforcement and conservationists could keep better tabs on illicit activities

The rain brought relief from fire, but coaxed funnel spiders from their hideouts.

Australia Rains Bring Relief From Fires—and a Surge in Deadly Spiders

Encouraged by wet and hot conditions, male funnel-webs spiders are venturing out to find mates

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies are endangered in New South Wales.

Australia’s National Park Staff Is Now Air-Dropping Food to Wallabies

Wallabies often survive the bushfires, but their natural food sources do not

A Chinese paddlefish specimen made in 1990 is seen on display at the Museum of Hydrobiological Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, China. The Chinese paddlefish's sharp, protruding snout made it one of the largest freshwater species in the world.

The Chinese Paddlefish, Which Lived for 200 Million Years, Is Now Extinct

New research concludes the freshwater species likely disappeared between 2005 and 2010 due to human activity

The bicolored white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon), a small mammal known to carry and transmit Borna disease virus to other animals.

A Shrew-Borne Virus Is Responsible for Deadly Brain Infections in Humans

First discovered in livestock hundreds of years ago, Borna disease virus has apparently been claiming human lives for decades

Bear Family of Kamchatka

This Photographer Goes to the Ends of the Earth to Capture Rarely Viewed Animals

Roie Galitz considers himself an ambassador for the creatures he photographs, capturing their intimate moments in hopes of inspiring conservation

Laboratory experiments suggest the tooth-like scales of the puffadder shyshark can be degraded by acidifying oceans

Acidifying Oceans Could Corrode the Tooth-Like Scales on Shark Skin

A laboratory experiment hints at another sobering consequence of acid-heavy ocean waters on marine life

A melanistic Indian leopard in Nagarhole National Park.

Why Are Black Leopards So Rare?

Several species of cat have members with all-black coats, but the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages are just starting to be understood

Thousands of brooding octopuses were discovered in 2018 on the ocean floor off the coast of California.

Eighteen Things We've Learned About the Oceans in the Last Decade

In the past 10 years, the world's oceans have faced new challenges, revealed new wonders, and provided a roadmap for future conservation

The tooth-filled mouth of a lamprey. These bloodsucking fish have managed to survive for hundreds of millions of years.

Why the World Needs Bloodsucking Creatures

The ecological benefits of animals like leeches, ticks and vampire bats are the focus of a new exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

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