Animals

What kept giraffes apart so long that they developed into separate species?

There Are Four Giraffe Species—Not Just One

The downside to this revelation: several of the new species are critically endangered

Like humans, captive Komodo dragons tend to impose their microbes upon their environments.

Captive Komodo Dragons Share Their Teeming Microbiome with Their Environment, Just Like Us

Komodos could be the perfect model for studying host-microbe interactions

Benjamin photographed at Beaumaris Zoo in 1933.

Remembering the Tasmanian Tiger, 80 Years After It Became Extinct

Today, the animal’s memory is alive and well in Australia

Giant Pandas Are No Longer Endangered but Are Still in Danger

They aren't the only ones in trouble: the state of the great apes is more dire than ever

Twin puppies Cullen and Romulus

Identical Twin Puppies Confirmed for the First Time

Two Irish wolfhounds from South Africa shared the same placenta and have the same genetic makeup

Dennis Wiist inspects an eagle's foot at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado.

Inside a Remarkable Repository that Supplies Eagle Parts to Native Americans and Science

The repository, which has long provided feathers to tribes for traditional uses, also helps bird conservation researchers

The tiny pterosaur from the late Cretaceous was no bigger than a cat and sported a five-foot wingspan.

Two Pterosaur Finds Are Helping to Untangle Their Family Tree

An intact skull and a pint-sized species offer clues to how these creatures evolved

The only one who really understands me.

Dogs Know When You're Praising Them. That Doesn't Mean They Understand Human Speech

A dose of caution with the results of an intriguing new study

Inspired by Squid, Scientists Create New Materials That Change Color and Texture

The technology has a number of potential uses, from anti-glare screens to color-changing clothing

Rare Great White Shark Nursery Discovered Off the Coast of New York

Researchers find North Atlantic great whites spend their first 20 years in the waters off Montauk, Long Island

The Dog Aging Project Wants to Help Your Pet Live Longer

Biologists at the University of Washington are launching a long-term study that involves testing medications that could enhance dogs' life spans

Mesmerizing Animation Shows Potential Animal Escape Routes in a Warming World

"Migrations in Motion" models the journeys over 2,900 species may take to find new habitats

Meet Octobot.

This Robot Is Soft and Squishy Inside and Out—No Wires or Batteries Necessary

"Octobot" uses a deceptively simple fuel source and inspiration from the depths of the sea

This 400-mile Trail Between the U.S. and Canada Was Planned by a Moose

The new trail will stretch from the Adirondacks in New York to Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario

Just a handful of key animals—mostly charismatic megafauna and a few economically important species—make up the bulk of conservation research efforts.

Scientists Know They Should Really Study Important Bugs but OMG a Baby Cheetah

In conservation science, the cutest animals still get all the attention

We're gonna need a bigger tank.

Ginormous Goldfish Are Invading Australian Rivers

Abandoned by their owners, the fish run rampant and impact the environment

A nesting male with a female in his nest.

Give it Up, Sneaky Males: These Lady Fish Have You Outwitted

Female ocellated wrasses have developed a surprising trick to control who fathers their offspring

Captive Bactrian deer at The Wilds, a conservation center in Cumberland, Ohio. Until recently, the deer was feared locally extinct in Afghanistan.

Rare Afghan Deer Endures Two Major Wars, Is Ultimate Survivor

Researchers feared the endangered ungulate had gone locally extinct. The Bactrian deer proved them wrong

Move over, tortoises: These sharks take the prize for oldest living vertebrate.

These Ridiculously Long-Lived Sharks Are Older Than the United States, and Still Living It Up

The lifespans of these marine methuselahs may double those of oldest living tortoises, a creative dating method finds

Ask Smithsonian: Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?

Humans cling to the idea that the beasts of the field could help to make earthquakes predictable, but prognosticators they are not

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