Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Science / Wildlife

A snow leopard caught in a camera trap in Afghanistan

The Vanishing Cats

In a recent bit of good news, snow leopards have been spotted at 16 camera traps in northeastern Afghanistan

The loss of wolves in the American West set off a cascade of changes to the region's food web.

What Happens When Predators Disappear

It’s Predator Week here at the blog. What’s your favorite predator, either existing or extinct?

Great White Egret, by Antonio Soto, photographed March 2009, South Florida

How the Great White Egret Spurred Bird Conservation

I was certain that the bird’s plumage had to have been faked, but all the photographer did was darken the background. Those feathers were real

A pig-nosed turtle at the Shedd Aquarium

The Decline of the Pig-Nosed Turtle

Saving the turtle from extinction could be complicated, scientists find

Naked mole rats from the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo

14 Fun Facts About Naked Mole Rats

Number 11: A mole rat’s incisors can be moved independently and can even work together like a pair of chopsticks

Rhinos and pigs wallow and coat themselves in mud, which protects them from the sun and helps to keep moisture in their skin.

Ask an Expert: Do Animals Get Sunburned?

Staffers at the National Zoo clue us in to how animals like elephants and hippos protect themselves from harmful UV rays

Amber Firefly

The Insect That Creates Its Own Lightshow

There are about 2,000 species of fireflies, a type of beetle that lights up its abdomen with a chemical reaction to attract a mate

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for the spread of the chikungunya virus. The virus causes joint pain so excruciating victims can't stand or sit upright for weeks or months at a time.

The Next West Nile Virus?

The chikungunya virus has escaped Africa and is traveling around the world via a widespread, invasive, voracious mosquito

If you call someone a piranha, first make sure you've got the right fish

Find Your Fishy Metaphor

We’ve all used a fishy metaphor in the past, but use the wrong one and you can look pretty stupid

Still from Cars 2

Top Ten Kids’ Movies With a Green Theme

Loggers, hunters, developers, fishers, polluters and whalers are the evil villains in this movie genre

Scientists are still trying to figure out why primates have excellent vision.

Snake-Spotting Theory Brings Primate Vision into Focus

Do camouflaged predators explain why monkeys, apes and other primates evolved superior eyesight?

Architeuthis dux, better known as the giant squid, is likely the inspiration for the legendary kraken.

The Giant Squid: Dragon of the Deep

After over 150 years since it was first sighted by the HMS Daedalus, the mysterious creature still eludes scientists

One of the most famous hominid fossils is the skull of a 3-year-old child found in Taung, South Africa. The child lived about three million to two million years ago. The skull has holes punched into its eye sockets; they were made by the talons of a large bird akin to an African crowned eagle.

The Top Ten Deadliest Animals of Our Evolutionary Past

Humans may be near the top of the food chain now, but who were our ancestors’ biggest predators?

The Glass Frog (Centrolenella colymbiphyllum) has skin so translucent that you can watch its heart beating.

14 Fun Facts About Frogs

#4: When Darwin’s frog tadpoles hatch, a male frog swallows the tadpoles

The European hamster is bigger than the petstore variety and has a black belly

To Save a French Hamster

A European Union court has ruled that France should be doing more to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace

A population of the wicker ancylid limpet (insert, not to scale) was found recently in Choccolocco Creek in Alabama.

Alabama Snail Returns From the Dead

The wicker ancylid, declared extinct in 2000, has been found alive and well in Choccolocco Creek

A bar-headed goose flies over India

The Goose That Flies Over the Himalayas

The bar-headed goose spends its winters at sea level in India and its summers in central Asia

Chimpanzee Yawning

Wild Things: Yawning Chimps, Humpback Whales and More…

Leaping beetles, Pacific salmon, prehistoric mammals and other news updates in wildlife research

Weighing up to several tons, whale sharks are also notable for their markings. Each pattern of spots is unique and scientists identify individual fish using computer programs first developed to study star constellations.

Swimming With Whale Sharks

Wildlife researchers and tourists are heading to a tiny Mexican village to learn about the mystery of the largest fish in the sea

Feral cats can roam over great distances, a new study finds.

The Secret Lives of Feral Cats

Free-roaming, unowned kitties live differently from our beloved pets

Page 112 of 143