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Science / Wildlife

A family of black-tailed prairie dogs practices their vigilance from their colony in Highlands Ranch.

Denver’s Street-Smart Prairie Dogs

Researchers explore why members of one species are thriving in urban areas while rural populations dwindle

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Why You Should Care About Acoelomorph Flatworms

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Toucans, Orchids, Monkeys and more

Heading to Canada from as far away as Argentina, red knot sandpipers stop to feast on the eggs of horseshoe crabs at Delaware Bay.

Return of the Sandpiper

Thanks to the Delaware Bay’s horseshoe crabs, the tide may be turning for an imperiled shorebird

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The Origin of the Komodo Dragon

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The Eastern Pacific Black Ghost Shark

Hydrolagus melanophasma, a new species of fish, was named from specimens collected over the last several decades off the coast of California

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Rare Kitty Caught on Film

Is Yawning Contagious for Chimpanzees Too?

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The Curse of the Labrador Duck

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Toad “Fraud” May Have Been Ahead of His Time

Giant kangaroo

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Hungry snakes, giant kangaroos, bat noses, and more

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Seven Threatened Cats You May Not Know

At an 18th-century auction in Amsterdam, Vermeer's Woman in Blue Reading a Letter sold for about one-third the amount that its owner spent to obtain a then rare Conus gloriamaris shell.

Mad About Seashells

Collectors have long prized mollusks for their beautiful exteriors, but for scientists, it’s what inside that matters

The 190-mile-long Cahaba River is home to many rare species, some of which were thought to be extinct. The showy Cahaba lily (at Halfmile Shoals) thrives in clean, clear, rapidly flowing water.

The Cahaba: A River of Riches

An unsung Alabama waterway is one of the most biologically diverse places in the nation, home to rare flora and fauna

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Five Favorite Penguins Outside Antarctica

Of all the species of penguins, more than half can be found only outside Antarctica. One of our favorites is in the Galapagos

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Picture of the Week — Ancient Spider in 3-D

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Orangutans Use Leaves to Sound Bigger

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Dog faces, the history of laughter, snakes, and bird warning calls

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Picture of the Week—Jellyfish

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Oversized Beak Keeps Toucan Cool

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