Zoology

Jenks' mice, preserved at Harvard in alcohol in a 12-inch tall glass jar, are each tagged with critical information.

A Scholar Follows a Trail of Dead Mice and Discovers a Lesson in Why Museum Collections Matter

A former Smithsonian curator authors a new book, <i>Inside the Lost Museum</i>

The cheetah population almost halved since 1975 with only an estimated 7,100 left in the wild today.

How to Help Cheetahs Live Longer in Captivity

The key is in what we feed them, researchers surmise

Adorable New Tiger Cub Born at the Zoo Yips at Its Mom on Video

The new Sumatran tiger cub signals a success in efforts to save the critically endangered species

A painting depicting a tribute giraffe and a handler sent to China in the 15th century.

The Peculiar Story of Giraffes in 1400s China

During China's short-lived golden age of exploration, two giraffes came to the imperial court

I can haz a sense of inequity?

Wolves and Dogs Both Have a Sense of Fairness

But wolves seem to take inequity much more seriously than dogs

The newly born red wolf pups

Endangered Red Wolf Pups Born in Durham

The six puppies are the first born at Museum of Life and Science in 15 years, part of a program to save the wolves which only number about 300

The goldfish in question, decked out in his customized wheelchair.

Don’t Get Too Excited About That Viral Goldfish “Wheelchair”

The contraption, though surely built with the best intentions, may do more harm than good.

Researchers Find the First Naturally Fluorescent Frog Species

The polka-dot tree frog emits a blue-green glow under UV light, which is an unusual feature for land-dwelling critters

Think human dating is hard? Try being a panda.

Why Panda Sex Isn't Black and White

Reproductive experts weigh in on panda porn, panda Viagra and other biological myths

Like most innovations in science, the study of whale earwax—a.k.a. earplugs—as oceanic core samples came about by asking a question no one had thought to ask.

For Scientists, Chunks of Whale Earwax Can Be Biological Treasure Troves

Biologists are waxing poetic about these unusual oceanic core samples found in the ears of cetaceans

Colo died at age 60 in the zoo where she was so famously born.

Colo, the World's First Gorilla Born in Captivity, Is Dead

The miracle baby turned matriarch was 60 years old

Pan Pan sired around 25 percent of all pandas in captivity.

Goodbye, Pan Pan: World’s Oldest Male Panda Dies

He was a prolific panda papa

To speak, perchance to think? A long-tailed macaque opens wide in Bali, Indonesia.

What's Really Keeping Monkeys From Speaking Their Minds? Their Minds

When it comes to language, primates have all the right vocal equipment. They just lack the brains

That looks nutritious.

Everyone Poops. Some Animals Eat It. Why?

Consuming feces can benefit not only the health and microbiomes of some animals, but also their environments

A midwater creature has few ways to hide from predators. A new report says some tiny crustaceans use tiny spheres that might be bacteria to cloak themselves with invisibility.

These Sea Creatures Have a Secret Superpower: Invisibility Cloaks

Scientists have found that some crustaceans have just the trick for hiding from predators

Jia Jia

Goodbye, Jia Jia: World's Oldest Captive Panda Dies at Age 38

Throughout her long life, Jia Jia helped the dwindling number of pandas bounce back

The National Zoo's resident cassowary in 2010.

Behind the Scenes at the National Zoo With the World’s Most Dangerous Bird

The zoo's cassowary “still has that mysterious aura about her—that prehistoric, dinosaur-walking-through-the-rainforest-quality."

Named for photographer Barry Brown, meet the newly discovered scorpionfish Scorpaenodes barrybrowni.

On a Deep Dive in a Custom-Built Submarine, a New Species of Scorpionfish Is Discovered

A Smithsonian scientist dives deep to a coral reef and finds much to discover

Artist's rendering of the first U.S. dolphin sanctuary

National Aquarium Will Move Dolphins to Seaside Sanctuary by 2020

Under mounting public pressure, the aquarium's eight bottle-nosed dolphins will soon move to a seaside retreat in the tropics

Melani, a 15-year-old Sumatran tiger, was rescued from the Surabaya Zoo in 2013 after becoming ill due to tainted meat. However, she died the year later. Rama, another Sumatran tiger at the zoo, died this week of heart failure.

How Indonesia’s “Death Zoo” Got Its Grisly Reputation

Will Rama the tiger’s demise prompt action at a zoo known for its filthy, overcrowded conditions?

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