Easter Island is home to at least 142 endemic species, including the Easter Island butterfly fish.

Chile Announces Protections for Massive Swath of Ocean With Three New Marine Parks

The almost 450,000 square miles encompass a stunning diversity of marine life, including hundreds of species found nowhere else

Thousands of years ago, a herd of Columbian mammoths trudged across present-day Oregon to an ancient lake, recording their interactions in the muddy sediments.

New Research

Rare Mammoth Tracks Reveal an Intimate Portrait of Herd Life

Researchers piece together a 43,000-years-old tableau of an injured adult and concerned young

Turtle Hatchlings Face Death While Dashing to Ocean

On the beaches of the Great Barrier Reef, the first turtle hatchlings emerge from their shells and make a run for the ocean

At La Pasiega in Spain, the scalariform, or ladder shape, composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years.

New Research

Were Neanderthals the Earliest Cave Artists? New Research in Spain Points to the Possibility

Archaeologists pushed back the date of cave paintings at three sites to 65,000 years ago—20,000 years before the arrival of humans in Europe

After Audubon's health began to fail, his family completed the project, producing the color plates in installments for about 300 subscribers.

The Fantastic Beasts of John James Audubon’s Little-Known Book on Mammals

The American naturalist spent the last years of his life cataloguing America’s four-legged creatures

When it comes to ancient remains, isotope analysis could help scientists separate dogs from wolves.

New Research

Dogs and Humans Didn’t Become Best Friends Overnight

First, we feared and ate them, a new isotope analysis reveals

Hamsters are nearsighted and colorblind. To find their way through dense fields, they rely on scent trails.

Why Are These Hamsters Cannibalizing Their Young?

Scientists are stalking French cornfields to find out

A British Columbia rainforest, where Douglas firs soar more than 160 feet, supports 23 native tree species.

Ask Smithsonian

Do Trees Talk to Each Other?

A controversial German forester says yes, and his ideas are shaking up the scientific world

A team of researchers in northern Australia have documented kites and falcons, “firehawks,” intentionally carrying burning sticks to spread fire: It is just one example of western science catching up to Indigenous Traditional Knowledge.

When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries

When it supports their claims, Western scientists value what Traditional Knowledge has to offer. If not, they dismiss it

Fifty years after researchers dismissed the idea of learning while you sleep, we now know that sound and smell cues can reactivate memories during this time of rest.

Sleep-Learning Was a Myth, But You Could Strengthen Memories While You Snooze

Neuroscientists find that sound and smell cues could solidify lessons you learn during the day

Many animals, like this red sphinx cat, are bred to be hairless. Other times, animal baldness is a symptom of stress and other factors.

Ask Smithsonian

Do Other Animals Besides Humans Go Bald?

From Andean bears to Rhesus macaques, non-human mammals have hair woes of their own

It turns out the story of the domesticated bunny is a lot fuzzier than the legends tell it.

The Odd, Tidy Story of Rabbit Domestication That Is Also Completely False

New study lends weight to the idea that domestication isn’t a point, but a process

Test tubes hold users' DNA samples, taken from cheek swabs.

The Dubious Science of Genetics-Based Dating

Is love really just a cheek swab away?

Never-Before-Seen Footage of Clownfish Hatching

Thanks to the use of a specialized infrared camera, we’re now able to witness a never-before-seen phase of clownfish development

Residents queue to fill containers with water from a source of natural spring water in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018.

What’s Behind Cape Town’s Water Woes?

As climate change intensifies droughts, the city’s crisis may signify a new normal

White-naped cranes flying above the DMZ.

How Korea’s Demilitarized Zone Became an Accidental Wildlife Paradise

Hundreds of rare animal species take shelter in the 155-mile no man’s land between North and South Korea

A Kenyan farmer using the fertilizer in his fields.

How Climate Change is Fueling Innovation in Kenya

A new generation of start ups are working to help farmers in a region that faces myriad challenges

Winter Olympics

What Reddit Can Tell Us About the Afterlives of Banned Olympic Drugs

We analyzed 150,000 comments to find that the Internet is still openly discussing these mind-bending stimulants

Watch This Male Mantis Shrimp Dance to Attract a Mate

Mantis shrimp have a reputation as fighters and it’s well deserved. But they also have a romantic side to them

Driftwood is a valuable resource for humans and all kinds of ecosystems near and far.

How Driftwood Reshapes Ecosystems

In one of nature’s remarkable second acts, dead trees embark on transformative journeys

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