Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Science / Wildlife

Lorna Seela Nabaala, one of only about 10 women safari guides out of the roughly 400 guides working today in the Maasai Mara

Meet One of the Few Female Safari Guides in Kenya

Though outnumbered by their male counterparts in the field, women have begun to take the reins in ecotourism

These ancient amber fossils from Burma in Southeast Asia help complete the patchy record of lizard evolution.

This Year in Ancient Amber: Prehistoric Feathers, Mushrooms, Lizards and More

It’s no Jurassic Park, but this treasure trove of new creatures will still transport you to an ancient world

In Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, America's most beloved native insect faces threats from illegal loggers and avocado growers.

New Research

The Best Way to Protect the World’s Forests? Keep People in Them

Instead of kicking indigenous groups out, let them continue to manage these lands effectively, argues a new report

Turns out, the Arctic squirrels (Urocitellus parryii) on Chirikof Island, long believed to be an invasive species, were native.

The Invasive Squirrel That Wasn’t

Everyone thought that the Arctic ground squirrel was an invasive species on this remote Alaskan island. A pair of scientists beg to differ.

Needle drop is one of the traits plant scientists at the Christmas Tree Research Center at Dalhousie University are hoping to improve.

Can Science Produce a Longer Lasting Christmas Tree?

LED Christmas lights make the needles hold on longer, and other discoveries from the world’s only Christmas tree research center

Canada

The Town That Polar Bears Built

Get to know the four-legged residents of Churchill, Canada

The shipworm, scourge of sailors everywhere, is actually a kind of ghostly saltwater clam.

How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean

The wood-boring shipworm has bedeviled humans for centuries. What’s its secret?

With its peace accords up in the air, the Colombia's diverse ecosystems face an uncertain future. Shown here: the valley of Cocora near Salento, Colombia.

How Colombia’s Failed Peace Treaty Could Wreak Havoc on Its Diversity-Rich Ecosystems

A potential influx of legal and illegal mining leaves the country’s megadiverse landscapes—and the communities who depend on them—in jeopardy

Page 64 of 143