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Science / Wildlife

For hundreds of years the Parsi people of Mumbai have left their dead on the Towers of Silence, to be consumed by vultures. Now the sacred practice is in peril.

The Vanishing

Little noticed by the outside world, perhaps the most dramatic decline of a wild animal in history has been taking place in India and Pakistan

Jokim Githuka, 3, displays a portrait of his dead father, Robert Njoya, in a Kenyan maize field. Other sons stand by his grave with Njoya's widow, Serah. The trial of his undisputed killer, Thomas Cholmondely, has electrified this former British colony.

Death in Happy Valley

A son of the colonial aristocracy goes on trial for killing a poacher in Kenya, where an exploding human population is heightening tensions

Black and white-furred gray wolves

In Danger of Endangerment

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Warm Temperatures Get Zoo Animals Steamy

The South American monkey frog and some other tree frogs can endure sunlight and dry air for long periods.

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Tree frogs, conservation maps and the northern swordtail fish

Small but cherished, the Grand Teton herd faces a growing number of man-made obstacles—including more than 100 fences (this one near Pinedale, WY) thrown up along the migration route that it has followed for millennia.

End of the Road?

Development threatens to block the migration of pronghorn antelopes. Without new protections, conservationists say, the animals are running out of time

Zion's dwindling cougar population traces its roots to the late 1920s, when the park's management made efforts to increase visitation.

It All Falls Down

A plummeting cougar population alters the ecosystem at Zion National Park

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Mirror Image

The first evidence that elephants can recognize themselves

Peter Beard at Hog Ranch in 2014 feeding giraffes

Beard’s Eye View

When elephants began dying, Peter Beard suspected that poachers were not entirely to blame

"Canopy Meg," pioneer of forest ecology, recalls her adventures in her new book, It's a Jungle Up There.

Interview: Margaret Lowman

Bugs in trees and kids in labs get their due in a new book by “Canopy Meg”

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Parasitic plants, zebra tarantulas and wobbles in Earth’s orbit

A gypsy moth larva crawls along a leaf.

Unwelcome Guests

A new strategy to curb the spread of gypsy moths

Mullet is a regional specialty along the lines of Kentucky burgoo or Louisiana gator tail.

Fish Are Jumpin’

A coastal community struggles to preserve the North Carolina “mullet blow”

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Killer whales, trap-jaw ants and dinosaurs

Claudine Andre, founder of Lola Ya Bonobo (Bonobo Paradise) sanctuary, rescues about ten of the endangered animals per year.

Bonobo Paradise

“Bonobo Paradise” is an 86-acre sanctuary set in verdant hills 20 miles south of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

What do dancing and scientific research have in common? "Creativity," says Jarvis (performing in high school in the early 1980s), and "hard work."

Song and Dance Man

Erich Jarvis dreamed of becoming a ballet star. Now the scientist’s studies of how birds learn to sing are forging a new understanding of the human brain

Sue Savage-Rumbaugh (with Kanzi in 2003) says her bonobos can communicate with her and each other using more than 348 symbols.

Speaking Bonobo

Bonobos have an impressive vocabulary, especially when it comes to snacks

Bonobos have a playful, gentle manner that is often reminiscent of human beings at their best. Our common primate ancestor lived six million years ago.

The Smart and Swinging Bonobo

Civil war has threatened the existence of wild bonobos, while new research on the hypersexual primates challenges their peace-loving reputation

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Interview with Steve Kemper, Author of “Cougars on the Move”

Kemper talks about how cougars have been hated throughout history and what surprised him while researching the animals

Mountain lion climbing down rock, Yellowstone National Park

Cougars on the Move

Mountain lions are thought to be multiplying in the West and heading east. Can we learn to live with these beautiful, elusive creatures?

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