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Science / Wildlife

I thought I saw more red foliage this fall. Is that related to climate change?

Does Climate Change Affect Leaves’ Fall Colors? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Left, Bartram’s illustration of Annona grandiflora, a member of the pawpaw family, which appeared in the naturalist’s 1791 Travels, right.

More Than 200 Years After He Toured Florida, America’s First Great Environmentalist Is Inspiring Locals to Reconnect With Nature

A new generation is discovering the rambling Southern route of William Bartram and his legendary 1791 travelogue

A leatherback turtle returns to the sea after nesting. Females spend three to five months at a time nesting, laying eggs for periods of about nine days.

Should Endangered Turtles Have Legal Rights?

To protect the majestic reptiles around the isthmus of Panama, an ambitious conservation group digs deep both on and off the beach

Nubian giraffes in South Sudan during an aerial survey in April 2023. The area is home to what is probably the planet’s largest land mammal migration.

Giraffes Are Notoriously Hard to Track, But New Technology Is Helping Scientists Protect the Beloved Species

As populations plummet across Africa, researchers have designed an ingenious method to study the graceful creatures

Monarch butterflies' signature white spots could help them fly—and inspire better drones.

Seven Scientific Discoveries From 2023 That Could Lead to New Inventions

Biologists learned lots about animals and plants this year, and their findings could inspire better robots, medicine and environmental technologies

A critically endangered kākāpō rests in a tree.

Inside New Zealand’s Quest to Save Its Rotund, Flightless Parrots

Researchers are slowly restoring the endangered kākāpō using DNA sequencing, GPS tracking and tailored diets

While they chew their cud, reindeer brains shift into a state of non-REM sleep.

Reindeer Sleep and Eat Simultaneously, Saving Precious Time in the Short Arctic Summer

While the animals chew their cud, they also enter a state of rest

Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of southern Kazakhstan.

Saving the Apple’s Ancient Ancestor in the Forests of Kazakhstan

Found in the Tian Shan mountains, Malus sieversii could hold the secret to making other species of the fruit more stress-resistant

Seabirds, such as puffins, have a well-earned reputation as sentinels of change in marine environments.

How Seabirds Can Help Us Predict the Size of Fish Stocks

The scientists who study terns, puffins and other birds are trying to get fisheries managers to heed their warnings

Larval bony-eared assfish

These Ten Brilliant Portraits Illuminate Ocean Creatures’ Nighttime Antics

Blackwater photographer Steven Kovacs takes spectacular shots of marine animals, helping scientists study tiny larval fish

Covid-19 lockdowns had all kinds of effects on wild populations, helping some and hindering others. In one Mexican marine park, though, the sudden lack of tourists led to an increase in the density and diversity of marine species.

During Covid-19 Lockdowns, Fish Flourished in This Park

In the absence of tourists, the animals increased within Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo National Park

Our ten favorite science books of the year covered everything from astronomy to undersea exploration.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best Science Books of 2023

From stories on the depths of the ocean to the stars in the sky, these are the works that moved us the most this year

Chinstrap penguins incubate eggs.

Chinstrap Penguins Sleep Over 10,000 Times a Day—for Just Four Seconds at a Time

The amazing microsleep strategy may be an adaptation to group living and lurking predators in a harsh Antarctic environment

Atlantic bluefin tuna circle a holding pen near Malta. The Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico were long thought to be the only locales where the massively valuable fish spawns.

Bluefin Tuna Get Busy Off North Carolina

The extremely valuable fish likely spawn in a patch of the Atlantic Ocean called the Slope Sea

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

On Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a rare animal is thriving—for now

The horned marsupial frog, which carries its eggs in a pouch on its back, lives in the canopy of tropical rainforests.

The Surprise Reappearance of a Rare Frog Has Scientists Leaping to Protect Its Habitat

The marsupial frog, which incubates its young in a pouch on its back, was thought to be extinct in some countries

Why can't machines process CO2 the way trees do?

Why Can’t Machines Process CO2 Like Trees? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

In 1958, dozens of red-breasted flycatchers, like the one pictured here, flew off course and visited the United Kingdom.

One Reason Migrating Birds Get Lost Is Out of This World

Solar energy can alter the Earth’s magnetic field and likely lead the animals astray

An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, India. The country has the highest rate of snakebite deaths in the world.

An Inside Look at the Effort to Curb Deadly Snakebites in India

With around 58,000 human deaths from snakebites each year in the country, a lot more must be done to save lives

This well-preserved track from Australia clearly shows the four toes of an ancient bird.

Australia’s Oldest Known Bird Tracks Are 120 Million Years Old

In that age, the continent was attached to Antarctica, but migrating animals still traveled to the polar region for sustenance

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