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Science / Wildlife

Amazing Underwater Photos of Ocean Creatures

Check out these incredible images by photojournalist Brian Skerry, and help select which photographs will appear in an upcoming exhibit

Shanthi, 34, and Kandula, 8, in the Elephant Trails yard after the first phase of renovations were completed in 2010 at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Found: A Time Capsule at the National Zoo

While renovating the Elephant House, construction workers discovered a mysterious box hidden in a wall

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How Biomimicry is Inspiring Human Innovation

Creative minds are increasingly turning to nature—banyan tree leaves, butterfly wings, a bird’s beak— for fresh design solutions

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How Can a Jellyfish This Slow Be So Deadly? It’s Invisible

One of the world’s most devastating predators is brainless, slow and voracious

Studying animals can help greatly with the advancement of human medicine.

How Looking to Animals Can Improve Human Medicine

In a new book, UCLA cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz reminds us that humans are animals too. Now, if only other doctors could think that way

The giant swallowtail, a Southern butterfly, has historically not been found in Massachusetts, but in recent years it has appeared more and more frequently.

New Evidence for Climate Change: Butterflies

The meticulous records of an amateur butterfly club in New England are opening a window into changes happening to the regional climate

A new study reveals that the African grey parrot is capable of abstract reasoning.

African Grey Parrots Have the Reasoning Skills of 3-Year-Olds

A new experiment showed that the birds are capable of abstract logical reasoning, a trait previously shown only by primates

One of the snow leopard cubs discovered in Mongolia’s Tost Mountains.

First Ever Video of Wild Snow Leopard Mother and Cubs

Researchers came upon a wild snow leopard den in the Tost Mountains of Mongolia and captured a mother with cub on camera for the first time

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The Fate(s) of Australia’s Mega-Mammals

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White-Nose Syndrome Kills Social Bats Most Frequently

Scientists have found that bat species that hibernate in clusters are more likely to be struck by the dreaded disease and may be at risk of extinction

Steven Amstrup has studied polar bears in the arctic for decades and seen the impacts of climate change firsthand.

Interview With Indianapolis Prize Winner and Polar Bear Researcher Steven Amstrup

Recognized for his role in animal conservation, Amstrup explains what climate change is doing to the arctic and what he’s doing to stop it

Pigs were domesticated in several different regions of the world.

Old McHominid’s Farm

Where and when did humans domesticate dogs, pigs, cows and other animals?

A new study uses high-speed videography to examine how mosquitoes survive the impact of raindrops.

How Do Mosquitoes Fly in the Rain?

Bathynomus

The Sea Monster Bathynomus

The hulking crustacean has razor-sharp mandibles and eyes that catch the light like a cat’s. Now it has turned into a high-tech saboteur

The ocean sunfish is the heaviest bony fish in the world; it can grow more than 10 feet long and pack on a whopping 5,000 pounds, and yet its flat body has no real tail to speak of.

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Ocean Sunfish

Marine biologist Tierney Thys and researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium are learning more about one of the largest jellyfish eaters in the sea

Some fossil evidence indicates the common ancestor of gorillas (shown), chimpanzees and humans came from Europe.

Did Africa’s Apes Come From Europe?

Fossil evidence hints that the common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans evolved in Europe

An artist's depiction of Afrotarsius (upper left) and other early primates from Africa

Out of Asia: How Monkey and Ape Ancestors Colonized Africa

A new fossil discovery suggests that anthropoid ancestors originated in Asia and then rafted across the ocean to Africa

A new study shows that over-the-counter products sold to eradicate the bed bug, shown feeding above, are relatively ineffective

Bed Bugs Are Even Peskier Than We Thought

A new study reveals that common over-the-counter bed bug eradication products are essentially ineffective

Scientists are racing against time: 100,000 species of flora-imperiled by habitat destruction, overharvesting and climate change—are threatened with extinction.

The Noah’s Ark of Plants and Flowers

Scientists at a British laboratory are racing to preserve thousands of the world’s threatened plants, one seed at a time

Sometimes sleeping on the ground is cooler and more comfortable for chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees Sleep in Trees to Escape the Humidity

Making nests in trees keeps chimps comfortable and safe from nighttime predators

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