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Science / Wildlife

An eastern wolf in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park.

Rare Wolf or Common Coyote? It Shouldn’t Matter, But It Does

The concept of species is flawed, but it still has a huge bearing on conservation policy

A silverfish

New Research

Richer Homes Are Also Richer in Biodiversity

Scientists find that wealthier neighborhoods sport a greater diversity of bugs

Engraving of a woolly mammoth.

New Research

Solving a Mystery of Mammoth Proportions

Dwindling freshwater sealed the demise of the St. Paul woolly mammoths, and could still pose a threat today

Named for photographer Barry Brown, meet the newly discovered scorpionfish Scorpaenodes barrybrowni.

On a Deep Dive in a Custom-Built Submarine, a New Species of Scorpionfish Is Discovered

A Smithsonian scientist dives deep to a coral reef and finds much to discover

Corvette Stingray

These Sleek, Sexy Cars Were All Inspired By Fish

You’ve heard about the Stingray, but what about the Bionic Boxfish?

How to Regulate the Incredible Promise and Profound Power of Gene Drive Technology

An evolutionary ecologist argues that cutting-edge genetic research that could lead to species extinction should be handled with care

Mark Barton and principal investigator Kevin Boswell of Florida International University conduct species sampling of the nearshore waters.

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Playboy to Polar Bears: A Fashion Photographer’s Journey to Document Climate Science in Northernmost Alaska

Florencia Mazza Ramsay traveled to Barrow, the northernmost town in the United States, to document life and research on the front lines of climate change

Crocodiles sun themselves at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Buena Vista, Florida in 2012.

Forced Closer to Humans, Crocodiles Face Their Greatest Existential Threat

These armored reptiles have long been considered indestructible, but new threats are shifting the equation

Yao honey-hunter Orlando Yassene holds a wild greater honeyguide male in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique.

New Research

Forget Bees: This Bird Has the Sweetest Deal With Honey-Seeking Humans

The effectiveness of the honeyguide call sheds light on why this golden relationship has stuck around so long

Tiny nurse ants tending to white ant larvae are dwarfed by the queen ant in the upper right. All the ants feed upon protein-rich food produced by a white-grey fungus that they cultivate underground.

Were Ants the World’s First Farmers?

A new study shows that a group of ants have been conducting a subsistence type of farming since shortly after the dinosaurs died out

You ain't seen nothing yet.

There’s No Wrong Way to Make a Tadpole (or Froglet)

Marsupial frogs, “vomit frogs” and foam-spewers reveal the glorious range of frog baby-making techniques

Move Over, Madagascar: This Island Has the World’s Greatest Concentration of Unique Mammals

The majority of them are found nowhere else on Earth, making Luzon a biological treasure trove

Two skulls belonging to extinct marine mammal herbivores used in the new study, both from the Smithsonian's collections.

When Did Today’s Whales Get So Big?

More recently than you might think, say scientists who scoured the fossil record

After the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in 2010, rescuers rushed to save birds, like this pelican. In the end, it didn’t really matter, most birds died.

Age of Humans

Why We Pretend to Clean Up Oil Spills

Six years after Deepwater Horizon spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico, we still have no idea what we’re doing

New research is causing the original keystone species, the ochre sea star Pisaster ochraceus, to lose some of its supposed ecosystem-controlling powers.

Tide Shifts Against the Concept of a Keystone Species

Starfish challenge a key ecological concept, ushering in a slightly-more democratic era for tide pools everywhere

A brown bear hunts for salmon in Silver Salmon Creek.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Where and How to (Safely) Bear Watch in Alaska

Attacks à la Revenant are a statistical blip. An Alaska expert outlines the dos and don’ts of sharing wilderness with the state’s 133,000 bears

Expanding human populations in India have pushed tigers into small, isolated habitats—and resulted in some unusual behaviors.

Anthropocene

Sorry, Tiger Dudes: Your Ladies Are Faking It

India’s tigresses may be feigning interest in sex as the result of shrinking habitat and overlapping territories

A mudskipper clings to a rocky embankment.

Awkward Robots Show How Tails Propelled First Land Walkers to New Heights

A 3D-printed bot designed to move like amphibious fish suggests that the first land animals needed tails to climb slippery slopes

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