Animals

This year's science left us speechless and maybe a tiny bit more knowledgeable.

The Top 9 Baffling, Humbling, Mind-Blowing Science Stories of 2016

From gravity's song to the evolutionary secrets of dogs, this year unlocked a treasure trove of scientific discovery

Two of the last remaining wolves on Isle Royale

Park Service May Boost Wolf Pack on Isle Royale

The NPS has proposed a plan to boost the wolf population on the island where currently only two inbred canines remain

Why the U.S. Army Guarded the 23 Remaining American Buffalo

In 1882, General Philip Sheridan's expedition to the protected buffalo haven in Yellowstone National Park revealed a gruesome reality

Polar Bear Mom and Cub Accidentally Separated by a Car

A car horn outside Churchill, Manitoba, causes a curious polar bear mom and her cub to scurry in opposite directions

Dwarf minke whale

Unidentified Complex Sound From Earth's Deepest Trench May Be New Whale Call

Known as the Western Pacific Biotwang, researchers believe it may be a previously unrecoreded call from a dwarf minke whale

Phuket Horned Tree Agamid, Acanthosaura phuketensis, found in Phuket,Thailand

Meet the Klingon Newt, Ziggy Stardust Snake—Two of the 163 New Species Discovered in the Mekong

A new reports details the dozens of new animal and plant species scientists found in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong in 2015

A Beloved Alpha Polar Bear Near the End of His Life

Saint Pete, as he's known by locals in nearby Churchill, Manitoba, is an elderly polar bear who's been visiting the town for decades

An Angry Hippo Charges a Trespassing Lion

A lion ventures into an area of the river that's part of a hippo bull's territory. The enraged hippo wastes no time in asserting his dominance

Bei Bei, the National Zoo's youngest giant panda cub, during a veterinary exam when he was less than three months old.

The Long, Adorable History of Pandas in America

Su Lin was the first giant panda to come to America, landing in San Francisco in 1936

Swabbing the toads to sample their microbiomes.

Meet the Colorful New Weapon Scientists Are Using to Save Toads From a Devastating Fungus

Researchers are supplementing the amphibians’ natural microbiomes with a fluorescent fungus-fighter they've dubbed "Purple Rain"

Besides exceptional facial hair, what could these two gentlemen have in common?

The Hidden Connections Between Darwin and the Physicist Who Championed Entropy

These magnificently bearded men both introduced a dose of randomness and irreversibility into the universe

A cow is milked by a robotic voluntary milking system.

Rise of the (Cow Milking) Robots

The largest robotic dairy farm in the United States will be up and running in Michigan next year

This colorful pattern is actually the cells inside a zebrafish embryo.

Prize-Winning Videos Capture Mesmerizing, Microscopic World

Everything looks cooler when it's viewed through the lens of a microscope

This bird has a bun in the oven.

Wisdom the Oldest Known Albatross Is Having Another Baby

Old age hasn’t slowed down the prolific bird

Giraffes Silently Slip Onto the Endangered Species List

Years of habitat destruction and poaching have reduced giraffe numbers by 30 percent, placing them in the vulnerable category for the first time

This jaguar was spotted by a wildlife camera in Arizona.

America’s Only Known Jaguar May Not Be Alone Anymore

Perhaps "El Jefe" isn't so lonely after all

Hippo Climbs Down a Steep Cliff...With Difficulty

A 15-foot male hippo carefully negotiates his enormous body down a sheer cliff. It's the shortest and most direct route to the water

A flock of snow geese safely land on a lake at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

Thousands of Snow Geese Die at Abandoned Pit Mine

Despite attempts to scare them away, thousands of geese landed on the acidic Berkeley Pit, which is full of toxic heavy metals

Half of All North American Shorebirds Use This Rest Stop

Bottoms is the nation's largest inland marsh, an area of over 60 square miles. It's also the favored resting spot of many species of migrating birds

"Dude, I thought he said he'd be here at 4."

How Cheetahs “Spot” Each Other

Cheetah meetups: In a novel study, researchers show that roaming cheetahs likely use their noses to seek each other out after weeks apart

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