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Science / Wildlife

A red-eyed treefrog hangs on to a leaf in Costa Rica.

Why Frogs Survived the Asteroid That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs

Not too big, not too small—they were just the right size to live through Earth’s worst day

Fishers have employed all manner of strategies to prevent dolphins and other marine mammals from raiding their nets. “Hot sauce” is the latest in the arsenal.

Dolphins Shrug Off Hot Sauce-Spiked Nets

Fishing nets laced with spice did nothing to deter the hungry marine mammals

Salmon are believed to have a relationship, direct or indirect, with more than 100 different species. In Alaska, brown bears famously fish for adult salmon as they swim upstream to spawn.

How Will Mining Affect Alaskan Salmon?

Active mines, proposed mines and exploratory projects in Alaska and British Columbia may affect key salmon watersheds

With one vast root system, Pando weighs more than 6,600 tons and contains approximately 47,000 genetically identical stems (or branches).

The World’s Largest Tree Is Ready for Its Close-Up

Friends of Pando, a nonprofit, is in the process of creating the largest image ever recorded of this single aspen clone in Utah

A mouse lemur grasps onto a tree branch in Madagascar. Scientists looked to characteristics in such modern primates to form a hypothesis about how primates behaved after an asteroid wiped out non-avian dinosaurs.

Soon After Dinosaur Decimation, Our Primate Ancestors Began Pouncing on Prey

Nails helped them climb trees quietly, and forward-facing eyes helped with depth perception to aid in precise leaping

According to the National Park Service, 95 percent of U.S. brown bears live in Alaska.

Getting Up Close to the Bears of Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park

The high density of brown bears in the protected area makes it an ideal spot for viewing and research

The costume worn by Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War is in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The suit imbues him with powers similar to the abilities of the dark cats.

14 Fun Facts About Black Panthers

Many of the Marvel superhero’s powers are inspired by the namesake predator

A fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, in Koh Mon, Thailand, at a shrimp farm. Such facilities reduce the area inhabited by the shy animal, contributing to its decline. 

Planet Positive

Fishing Cats Face Many Human Threats. What Can Be Done to Save Them?

The wild felines in Asia are highly adapted to watery environs that are disappearing

A mountain lion, P-22, known to live in the Los Angeles area

L.A.’s Cougars Were Driven to Extremes by Wildfire

With less suitable habitat, the big cats traveled further and crossed dangerous roads more often

Shark skin is made of tiny, stiff segments of overlapping, textured dentin and enamel. Shark skin’s distinctive texture gives sharks greater efficiency moving through the water.

Shark Skin-Inspired Materials Have a Long Way to Go Before They Work Like the Real Thing

The predator’s distinctive texture is the envy of engineers trying to maximize hydrodynamics

The first juvenile collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) raised from a cryopreserved embryo.

Planet Positive

A Graduate Student’s Research Could Help Stop the Spread of Invasive Seaweed in Hawai’i

For the first time, using cryopreservation to freeze sea urchin embryos may help restore coral reefs

A golden-winged warbler perches on a branch in Minnesota. The bird’s declining population worries ornithologists.

More Than Half of U.S. Bird Populations Are Shrinking

An alarming report indicates that dozens of species are likely to become federally endangered without preventive action

An artist’s reconstruction of Scleromochlus taylori, an ancestor of pterosaurs

The Ancestors of Flying Pterosaurs Were Sleek Reptiles That Ran on the Ground

High definition scans of a fossil reveal the form of an early pterosaur relative

Photographed on September 14, 2022, 480 Otis is the reigning 2021 Fat Bear Week champion.

How the Bears at Alaska’s Katmai National Park Became Celebrities

Park officials had no idea that the installation of live nature cameras at Brooks River ten years ago would lead to the wildly successful Fat Bear Week

The elkhorn coral is one of the most endangered corals in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys. In Florida alone, the population is reduced by over 95 percent. A coral breeding project using elkhorn coral gametes collected in Florida and Curaçao hopes to give this species a new lease on life. 

This Moonshot for Coral Breeding Was Successful

But the coral are still in tanks, waiting to be released on reefs

Five-day-old red-eyed treefrog embryos are tightly curled inside dehydrated eggs packed closely together. It’s dry enough to make them begin to hatch early amid heating.

Panama

When the Heat Is on, Red-Eyed Treefrogs Hatch Early

The embryos make the move from clutches on leaves to rainforest ponds below

An artist’s reconstruction of Qianodus duplicis, the earliest known fish that had a mouth with teeth

Haul of Fossil Fish Pushes Back the Origin of Teeth and Jaws

The unexpected finds illustrate life during a critical and little-understood time period

A European eel swims in the Baltic Sea. 

The Utterly Engrossing Search for the Origin of Eels

To save the endangered animals, researchers have been working for decades to figure out where they reproduce

A bull walks in front of a cow. If they mate, the bull’s sperm will likely cluster together as they swim through the female’s reproductive organs.

Bull Sperm Get by With a Little Help From Their Friends

Traveling together helps the sperm navigate a tricky, sticky migration through a cow’s reproductive tract

One reader wonders: Why did ants make it all over the Americas while anteaters didn’t?  

Why Do Anteaters Live Only in the Tropics and More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

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