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Science / Wildlife

Luke, the National Zoo's male lion

Secrets of a Lion’s Roar

Not all cats roar, but those that do fascinate us with their mysterious and frightening sounds

A kinkajou in Costa Rica

What In The World Is A Kinkajou?

It’s a carnivore, though it mostly eats fruit. It has a prehensile tail, but it’s not a primate

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Wild Things: Feathered dinosaurs, king crabs and spotted hyenas

Traveling snails, brainwashed rats and more updates from the world of wildlife

Infamously fierce, rhinoceroses, pictured is a black rhino in Kenya, are victims of rumors that have driven the price of their horn to hundreds of dollars an ounce.

Defending the Rhino

As demand for rhino horn soars, police and conservationists in South Africa pit technology against increasingly sophisticated poachers

A little brown bat with symptoms of white-nose syndrome

Bat Killer Confirmed

The Geomyces destructans fungus causes deadly white-nose syndrome in bats

A side-blotched lizard in Utah

The Lizards That Live Rock-Paper-Scissors

Three color varieties each have advantages and disadvantages relative to the others

The crustacean Cymothoa exigua is the first known parasite to functionally replace an entire organ of an animal.

Top 10 Real-Life Body Snatchers

Parasites and zombies are not science fiction; they infest rats, crickets, ants, moths and other creatures, sucking the life out of them

Smithsonian.com and the National Zoo have partnered to bring readers the opportunity to name one of the newest black-footed ferrets.

Help Name the National Zoo’s Baby Black-Footed Ferret

For 30 years the Zoo has helped breed hundreds of ferrets, but one of the most recent additions is in need of a name

What possesses some people to study the parenting skills of Atlantic puffins for decades?

Michelle Nijhuis: Why I Like Science

Science is not a list of facts but a method of asking questions, testing possible answers and asking yet more questions

Pandas munch on bamboo for most of the day.

How A Carnivore Survives On Bamboo

New research finds that the giant panda may get some bacterial help to digest its bamboo diet

The Chinese alligator now numbers fewer than 200 in the wild, mostly restricted to a small reserve in the Anhui province of China, along the lower Yangtze River.

Ten Threatened and Endangered Species Used in Traditional Medicine

The demand for alternative remedies has given rise to a poaching industry that, along with other factors, has decimated animal populations

It only took five tries, but his version of Hamlet is much better.

Chimps Shouldn’t Be Entertainers

A new study provides evidence that seeing chimps in commercials makes us care less about them as a species

The St. Francis Satyrs now number around 1,000 and are found in an area of less than 20 acres.

Who Can Identify the World’s Rarest Butterfly

Two scientists are in a grim contest to document some of the animal kingdom’s most endangered species

There are 200 million European starlings in North America

The Invasive Species We Can Blame On Shakespeare

There are 200 million European starlings in North America, and they are a menace

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Wild Things: Wildcats, Pigeons and More…

Sea monster mamas, bat signals and opossum versus viper

Given a safe passage, jaguars will wander hundreds of miles to breed, even swimming across the Panama Canal.

The Jaguar Freeway

A bold plan for wildlife corridors that connect populations from Mexico to Argentina could mean the big cat’s salvation

Resembling a protective amulet, the Tibetan bunting charms Tashi Zangpo and the other monks he has trained.

A Buddhist Monk Saves One of the World’s Rarest Birds

High in the Himalayas, the Tibetan bunting is getting help from a very special friend

King of the Hill by photographer James Kasher

Photo of the Week: Anemone and Shrimp

One appeared on the very top of one of the highest fingers and grasped the tip in what appeared to be a moment of victory: King of the Hill

A long exposure of a Motyxia millipede highlights its greenish-blue glow

The Millipede That Glows In The Dark

The blind, nocturnal arthropod produces a deadly toxin when disturbed

Rock hyraxes in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

What in the World is a Rock Hyrax?

It’s the elephant’s closest living, land-based relative

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