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Stories from Sarah Kuta

In December 2024, a trail camera installed on private property in Oklahoma's Cimarron County photographed an adult mountain lion with three kittens.

Rare Mountain Lion Kittens Spotted on Trail Cameras Suggest the Big Cats May Be Re-establishing a Population in Oklahoma

Two separate adult mountain lions were recorded with cubs in different parts of the state last year, offering the first evidence confirmed by state biologists that the cats could be breeding there

The squid species had only been known from dead specimens found in fishing nets or the stomachs of other animals.

Scientists Had Never Seen This Mysterious Squid Alive in the Wild—Until Now. See the First Footage of the Elusive Creature

A three-foot-long Antarctic gonate squid was spotted swimming 7,000 feet below the surface of the Southern Ocean

The wreck of the Joseph Cochrane, a 131-foot-long cargo schooner that sank in 1870, is located 563 feet from the Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse in Lake Michigan.

Historians Set the Record Straight on This Misidentified 155-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan

For years, experts thought a wreck near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, was the “Christina Nilsson.” Recently, they realized it’s actually the “Joseph Cochrane,” which sank in 1870

Artist Curtis Ingvoldstad poses next to the pencil sculpture he created from a damaged oak tree in John and Amy Higgins' yard in Minneapolis.

Thousands of Cheering Spectators Gather to Watch This 20-Foot-Tall No. 2 Pencil Get Sharpened

After a 2017 windstorm toppled the crown of their oak tree in Minneapolis, John and Amy Higgins hired artist Curtis Ingvoldstad to transform their beloved tree into a giant pencil sculpture

Asian needle ants are small, shiny and dark brown, with lighter-colored leg tips and antennae.

Watch Out for These Invasive, Stinging Ants That May Cause Life-Threatening Allergic Reactions

First introduced in the 1930s, carnivorous Asian needle ants appear to be spreading across the United States

The installation aimed to raise awareness about snake bites, an often-overlooked global health issue affecting vulnerable populations.

What’s Up With These Slithering Snake Sculptures That Appeared in Switzerland?

Millions get bitten by snakes each year, and tens of thousands of those victims die. Now, global health experts are trying to get those numbers down

Ancestral Menominee farmers grew corn, beans and squash in earthen mounds they built on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Massive Fields Where Native American Farmers Grew Corn, Beans and Squash 1,000 Years Ago Discovered in Michigan

The ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin built earthen mounds to grow crops. The site could be the largest preserved archaeological field system in the eastern United States

Oklahoma Cheyenne, Joseph Henry Sharp, circa 1915 (left) and Victor Higgins, Aspens, circa 1932 (right)

Stolen Paintings Linked to Retired Couple Who Supposedly Moonlighted as Art Thieves Returned to New Mexico Museum After 40 Years

Victor Higgins’ “Aspens” and Joseph Henry Sharp’s “Oklahoma Cheyenne” had been missing since March 1985, when they were snatched in broad daylight

Hikers spotted the creature at the 10,882-acre Joseph D. Grant County Park last week.

A Large, Invasive Lizard Was Spotted in a California Park

Hikers at Joseph D. Grant County Park, just outside of San Jose, saw an Argentine black and white tegu last week—and rangers are now searching for the out-of-place reptile

Visitors pose atop Arch Rock, a geological formation on Mackinac Island.

How America’s Forgotten Second National Park Lost Its Federal Status—and Gained a New Lease on Life as a State Park

Much of Mackinac Island was designated as a national park in 1875, but it proved to be too expensive for the government to maintain, so it was transferred to the State of Michigan in 1895

Many sea horse traders operate on the black market.

Sea Horse Smuggling Is a Big Problem, Despite Global Efforts to Protect These Beloved Aquatic Creatures

Between 2010 and 2021, authorities seized around five million individual sea horses worth more than $21 million

An estimated 4,000 Leadbeater's possums live in Victoria, split between highland and lowland populations.

A Tiny Endangered Creature That ‘Moves Like Greased Lightning’ Has Been Found in an Unexpected Place

Trail cameras captured an elusive Leadbeater’s possum in the Australian state of New South Wales, where they were thought to be locally extinct

Divers recovered the watch from Lake Michigan in late 1992.

Pocket Watch Recovered From Lake Michigan’s Deadliest Shipwreck Returns to Owner’s Hometown After 165 Years

The timepiece belonged to Herbert Ingram, a British journalist and politician who died when the “Lady Elgin” sank in 1860. His watch was recovered from the bottom of the lake in 1992

Scientists determined the most effective method of halting the disease was covering a coral colony with a weighted plastic bag, then injecting a seawater solution that contains the probiotic. They left the colony covered for two hours to allow the probiotic bacteria to colonize the coral.

A Deadly Disease Is Eating Away at Caribbean Corals and Wreaking Havoc on Reefs. Could Probiotics Be the Solution?

New research suggests the probiotic McH1-7 could help stop the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease among wild corals near Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Many of the coins are from the United Kingom, but some are from as far away as the United States and Asia.

Tourists Are Stuffing Coins Into the Cracks of the Giant’s Causeway, Damaging the Iconic Site in Northern Ireland

Authorities are urging visitors to stop wedging pocket change between the basalt columns, which are cracking and crumbling as the coins expand

Burmese pythons—like this one photographed at Everglades National Park—are decimating animal populations in South Florida.

Florida Bobcat Kills 13-Foot Python for the First Time on Record. It’s a Sign of Nature ‘Fighting Back’ Against the Invasive Snakes

Burmese pythons are wreaking havoc on the Everglades ecosystem, but some native animals have been known to prey on the enormous reptiles

Crossing roads is a dangerous part of the migratory journey for many amphibians. In Monkton, Vermont, two tunnels beneath a street are helping frogs, salamanders and other creatures reach their destinations safely, according to a new study.

Two Wildlife Tunnels Are Saving Thousands of Amphibians From Being Crushed by Cars in Vermont

New research finds a pair of underpasses installed under a road that crosses a migration corridor have led to an 80.2 percent reduction in amphibian deaths

Discovered in a rock shelter in central Spain in July 2022, the stone measures more than eight inches long and more than four inches wide.

Did a Neanderthal Who Lived 43,000 Years Ago Paint a Red Nose on a Rock That Looked Like a Face?

Researchers theorize that an adult male dipped his finger in red ocher and intentionally used the pigment to complete the face he saw on a small granite stone

John Tyler was 63 when his 13th child was born in 1853. That child, Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr., was 75 when Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born in 1928.

Last Surviving Grandson of President John Tyler, Who Took Office in 1841, Dies at 96

When Harrison Ruffin Tyler’s grandfather was born 235 years ago in 1790, George Washington had just become the nation’s first president

This skull of a 1.8-million-year-old Paranthropus robustus individual was unearthed in South Africa, but it was not one of the fossils included in the study.

Scientists Investigate 2.2-Million-Year-Old Tooth Enamel to Unravel the Mysteries of Ancient Human Relatives

By studying proteins preserved in teeth, researchers determined the sex of four Paranthropus robustus individuals that lived in southern Africa

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