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Science / Wildlife

A Dancing Parrot and More

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Picture of the Week—Laysan Albatross Pair

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Migratory Canada Geese Brought Down Flight 1549

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What is Schrödinger’s Cat?

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Flight of the hummingbird, termite cloning and the rise of the octopus

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Picture of the Week—Whorly Snail

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Howl at the Moon for Science

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The Cat’s 10,000-Year Journey to Purring on Your Lap

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The Hubbub About Ida

Richard Conniff has been writing for Smithsonian magazine since 1982. His latest work is titled, "Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals."

Richard Conniff’s Wildlife Writing

International journalist Richard Conniff has reported on animals that fly, swim, crawl and leap in his 40 years of writing

The Audubon Insectarium is the largest freestanding museum in the country dedicated solely to insects and relatives.

Going Buggy at the New Audubon Museum

Crickets, spiders, ants and many other insects thrive in historic New Orleans, where kids and adults learn about creepy crawlers

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Picture of the Week—Shrimp at an Undersea Volcano

Unknown in the Americas 30 years ago, lionfish have multiplied at a rate that is almost unheard of in marine history.

Invasion of the Lionfish

Voracious, venomous lionfish are the first exotic species to invade coral reefs. Now divers, fishermen—and cooks—are fighting back

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Google Rents Goats to Mow the Lawn

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Dinosaur gangs, psychedelic fish and long-distance elephant calls

Where do they go? How many are there? What's with the tusk? Narwhals (in the Arctic Ocean) have inspired myth and wonder but are still little known to science.

In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal

Ballerina turned biologist Kristin Laidre gives her all to study the elusive, deep-diving, ice-loving whale known as the “unicorn of the sea”

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The Avenging Narwhal Play Set

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Major Loss of Wildlife in Kenya’s Masai Mara

Smithsonian magazine staff writer Abigail Tucker recently ventured to Greenland to report on narwhal research.

Abigail Tucker on “In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal”

Carlos Jaramillo (top row, third from the right), a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, co-organized the team that discovered the largest snake in world history.

Discovering the Titanoboa

As part of a multi-organizational team, Smithsonian scientist Carlos Jaramillo uncovered the fossils of a gigantic snake

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