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Science / Wildlife

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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Picture of the Week—Pygmy Seahorse

Orangutans

A Newly Discovered Orangutan Population on Borneo

The Zoo’s three pandas, here Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, require a constant supply of bamboo, a plant that is not very nutritious, especially for animals, like pandas, that are natural carnivores.

Feeding the Animals at the National Zoo

After hiring the first animal nutritionist 30 years ago, the National Zoo prepares specific, well-balanced meals for each animal

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Why We Don’t Have a Baby Panda

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Wolves, hibernating animals, spitting cobras and more

For the first time in 16 years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center celebrated the birth of clouded leopard cubs.

National Zoo Celebrates Birth of Rare Clouded Leopards

Notoriously difficult to breed, two new clouded leopards are born at the National Zoo’s research facility

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Picture of the Week—Great Egret

Voting continues for the Reader’s Choice in Smithsonian magazine’s 6th Annual Photo Contest

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Dolphin Bubble Rings

The dolphins at SeaWorld Orlando have learned an interesting trick all on their own: they create rings of bubbles and play with them

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Picture of the Week—Underwater Tiger

Komodo dragon

Komodo Dragons: Cute, Deadly or Both?

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