Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Nature

This might be the view a seal gets as it comes up from underwater to breathe: a polar bear, looking down for its prey.

See 16 Stunning Animal Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

Now in its 62nd year, the famed competition has released a sneak peek of the entries from this contest ahead of announcing the winners in October

The right side of the bird's body is male while the left side is female.

An ‘Extremely Rare’ Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Temporarily Took Up Residence Outside of Chicago

The unusual-looking bobolink is what’s called a bilateral gynandromorph. The bird behaved like a male, eventually wooing a mate and raising fledglings

Keepers hold the twin cubs, which were born on May 29 to parents Sequoia and Mow Mow.

See the Cutest Photos of Three Red Panda Cubs Born at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute This Year

The trio of cubs—including a pair of twins—are healthy and being cared for by their mothers. Their births represent a conservation milestone for the endangered species

A harbor porpoise surfaces near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Marine Biologists Solved a Wildlife Mystery From the Walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge: How the Harbor Porpoise Mates

The dolphin-like marine mammals returned to San Francisco Bay in 2008 after a decades-long absence from the area. Scientists took the rare opportunity to closely observe their behavior, and what they uncovered might help at-risk porpoise populations

Out on safari, this tired lion lets out a big yawn after an early morning hunt.

Lions, Lions and Lions, Oh My! 15 Photos of the Most Majestic Big Cats Found Throughout Africa

Ranging from cubs to adults, this selection of shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest showcases the apex predator of the savanna

Screenshot of Jackie from a livestream in April

Jackie the Bald Eagle, Who Captured Hearts Around the World Via Livestream, Has Died After Battling a Mysterious Illness

A raptor center in California had been caring for the animal since mid-July, after she had an altercation with two young eagles. But she had probably been sick long before then

A koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, with her babies at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, 2011

This Amazing Archive of Animal Photography Reveals 18,000 Species and Counting. Here’s How Joel Sartore Built His ‘Photo Ark’

For 20 years, the National Geographic photographer has showcased Earth’s animals in a series of striking images that make even the tiniest creatures look immense

Sperm whales seem to communicate differently in the presence of underwater shipping sounds.

Sperm Whales Seem to Change Their Calls When Ships Are Near, Highlighting the Implications of Underwater Noise Pollution

Several of the huge cetaceans living in the eastern Caribbean Sea shortened the intervals between their clicks and used one click pattern more than another when vessels were around, according to a new study

The dominant female wolf of Yellowstone's Canyon pack on February 26, 2015

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Yellowstone Is Among the World’s Best Places to See Wild Wolves. Here’s the Story of the Animal Called Both ‘Public Enemy’ and Cultural Icon

A century ago, resident wolves were eliminated from the park. In 1995, biologists brought them back, marking a historic reintroduction of a top carnivore

A blacktip shark, above, looks and behaves like a spinner shark. Scientists are tracking spinner sharks to get a clearer idea of the species' whereabouts.

These Shark Look-Alikes Have Long Confounded Fishers and Scientists on the East Coast. Tracking Where They Migrate Could Help Clear the Confusion

Researchers are tagging and tracking spinner sharks to map out their geographic distribution, because they’ve seen that the range of the very similar blacktip shark has shifted

A male elk in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada

Heading to a National Park? Watch Out for Elk. They Attack People Way More Often Than Bears Do, According to a New Study

While many people worry about grizzlies, an analysis of almost 3,000 encounters with aggressive wildlife in Canadian national parks and historical sites found that the huge ungulates were responsible for more than half of them

A 52-foot-long model of a female Otodus megalodon is suspended from the ceiling at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Predatory Sharks Grew to Enormous Sizes in Prehistoric Times. These Five Strategies Helped Them Get So Big

By cannibalizing their siblings in the womb or avoiding meat-eating pliosaurs, fearsome carnivores like the megalodon ballooned to proportions that would dwarf any shark alive today

In the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, a juvenile Bengal tiger steps from the shadows of mangroves into a tidal creek. This photo was highly commended in the mammals category.

Mangroves Are Key to Coastal Ecosystems. See 20 Breathtaking Photos That Reveal How the Trees Support Wildlife and Face Threats

The Mangrove Photography Awards honor images that show off the beauty—and the fragility—of these valuable intertidal forests

Finland's Lake Saimaa is 111 miles long, 87 miles wide, dotted by about 14,000 islands, pierced by dozens of narrow straits, and surrounded by sheltered bays perfect for ringed seal breeding.

Before Cultural and Natural Wonders Earn UNESCO World Heritage Status, They Are Put on a ‘Tentative’ List. Here Are Five Nominees Worth Visiting Now

Featuring more than 1,800 sites from 181 countries and territories, UNESCO’s tentative list is a treasure trove of lesser-known marvels

A new study documents two incidents of orcas breaking sunfish into pieces.

Video Captures Orcas Ramming a Sunfish So Hard It Explodes. The Mysterious Behavior Might Be a Form of Play or Juvenile Care

In two incidents documented in Mexico’s Gulf of California, orcas worked together to blast sunfish into smithereens after they had killed the enormous animals

Kiana Hall, a 33-year-old marketing specialist, captured a viral clip of Jimothy while out for a walk in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Trending Today

An Unusual-Looking Raccoon Nicknamed Jimothy Is Winning Hearts Across the Internet for His Short, Round Body

Jimothy has become a local celebrity in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and likely has a rare congenital spine condition

Gripping onto the edge of an iceberg in East Greenland, a polar bear looks out across the sea ice and sniffs the air. “The scene reflects a landscape that never stays still, where ice fractures, drifts and reforms around it,” photographer Rhiannon Lawler of the United Kingdom writes in a caption. Lawler captured the photo with a drone, keeping a safe distance from the animal.

These 16 Splendid Aerial Views Capture Wildlife From Above, Revealing the Beauty and Mystery of Nature

The second International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest selected its winners and 101 top images. Here’s a selection of the photos that spotlight animals from a new perspective

Two dolphins swim up to the camera. The recognized images from this year's Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest all feature animals.

These 11 Wildlife Images From the Ocean Conservancy’s Photography Contest Showcase the Wonder of Earth’s Waters

Seals, penguins and fish are featured in the nonprofit’s annual competition to inspire care for the world’s oceans

The daytime exterior of the National Geographic Museum of Exploration, taken from the courtyard

Years in the Making, National Geographic’s Museum of Exploration Is Here to Take You on an Adventure

The renovated space highlights the hallmarks of the iconic 138-year-old brand, from wildlife photography to the study of anthropology

A North Atlantic right whale swims with dolphins around its head in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary east of Boston.

Speed Limits for Ships Protect Endangered Right Whales From Vessel Strikes. Could the Animals Survive Without Them?

Since 2008, rules requiring ships to slow down to avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales have reduced fatalities of the critically endangered animals. Now, NOAA is calling the regulations into question, raising concerns for the mammals’ future

Page 1 of 54