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Science / Wildlife

I have an ancestor who was in Massachusetts in 1640. What is the best way to research ships that arrived before that time? 

How Do I Research Ancestors Who Sailed to America in the 1600s? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Red-shanked doucs are adept communicators, growling with a fixed stare when they’re threatened, or squealing harshly and slapping tree branches when they’re in distress or startled.

This Majestic Monkey Has Become a Beloved Neighbor for Millions in Vietnam

For the critically endangered red-shanked douc, proximity to an urban center has had surprising benefits

A sandhill crane stands over a Canada gosling it adopted in Madison, Wisconsin. Such interspecies adoptions appear to have become more common in recent years.

These Sandhill Cranes Have Adopted a Canada Gosling, and Birders Have Flocked to Watch the Strange Family

Ornithologists and locals wonder what the future holds for this chick being raised by much taller, but still doting parents

During mating season in fall, this male hellbender wanders along the bottom of a stream in North Carolina in search of a den site. Hellbenders rely on pristine streams and well-oxygenated flowing water. As they have declined across much of their range, sights like this have become uncommon.

Why Has This North Carolina Town Embraced a Strange Salamander?

The city of Boone has put a giant mural of the eastern hellbender downtown and its residents often imbibe a local Hazy IPA named after the amphibian

A computer illustration details dog roundworm (Toxocara canis). Humans can pick up the parasite when coming into contact with infected soil or feces.

How Worm-Inspired Treatments Are Inching Their Way Toward the Clinic

Infection by certain wrigglers may reduce inflammation and fight obesity and diabetes. Scientists are working to turn the findings into therapies

A flamingo peeks from behind its feathers at the North Carolina Zoo.

Engineers Are Racing to Harness the Dazzling Magic of Feathers. They Haven’t Solved the Mystery Just Yet

The natural marvels, which do everything from enabling acrobatic flight to insulating against Antarctic cold, continue to inspire new designs and technologies

Before her rescue in 2010, the Asiatic black bear Suki had been kept in a shipping container with 18 other bears. Now, she’s known at her new sanctuary home as a bear who loves to climb up high and survey the open space.

These Asian Bears Were Cut Open for Their Bile. Here’s What’s Being Done to Rehabilitate Them

Veterinarians in Vietnam perform surgeries, prepare special diets and craft recovery routines for moon bears to give them a better life

A baby Atlantic sturgeon caught from Virginia’s James River is measured by Matt Balazik, a research ecologist with Virginia Commonwealth University.

Once in Dire Straits, Atlantic Sturgeon Are Staging a Comeback on the East Coast

From Maine to Florida, the endangered, prehistoric fish is rebounding, but a recent study shows just how vulnerable the U.S. population remains

A grizzly bear walks along a road in Lake Louise, Alberta. 

To Reduce Human and Grizzly Bear Conflicts, Both Species Must Change Their Behavior

Rural Alaskan and Canadian communities are trying to get along with the large mammals

A seal catches a salmon off the coast of Washington State. Scientists are working to determine how much salmon the seals eat.

Salmon in the Pacific Northwest Are Facing a New Threat: Booming Populations of Seals and Sea Lions

The mammals’ return to the region represented a conservation success story, but their appetite for endangered fish is upsetting the balance of a delicate ecosystem

The Blomberg’s tree boa was recently documented in southwestern Colombia for the first time, even as it loses habitat in the nearby rainforests of Ecuador.

This Elusive Snake’s Habitat Is Under Threat in Ecuador. Here’s How Conservationists Are Fighting Back

How do you protect an endangered serpent with a special talent for hiding in plain sight?

Whatever happend to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's tradition of fireside chats?

What Happened to FDR’s Fireside Chats? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

A shaft of golden light from the cave’s mouth provides warmth as the expedition’s scientists enjoy lunch 80 feet below the opening of Natural Trap Cave.

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

A Trove of Ice Age Fossils Buried in a Wyoming Cave Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Prehistoric Animals

At a site known as Natural Trap Cave, a team of scientists are rappelling down to uncover the secrets of what the Earth was like during the Pleistocene

Sea cucumbers come in a multitude of colors.

Welcome to the Weird and Wondrous World of Sea Cucumbers

These spiny or slimy ocean creatures display an astonishing diversity of appearances, behaviors and lifestyles—and many are increasingly threatened

Soaring through the sky can be hard work, so why not land on a flower for a nectar break?

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Be Blown Away by These 15 Images of Beautiful Butterflies

These shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show just why butterflies have floated into our hearts

During the squid run, tens of thousands of opalescent squids (Doryteuthis opalescens) gather together.

In Order to Unravel the Many Mysteries of Squids, Scientists Dive Into Their Mating Frenzies

Marine biologists hope to find out more about a creature that is vital to a healthy ecosystem and the state’s fishery

A Haast’s eagle attacks a moa pair.

Why Have Birds Never Gotten as Big as T. Rex?

Even the most massive birds have never reached the sizes of their dinosaur relatives

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There's More to That

Looking Back on the L.A. Wildfires Through the Lens of Two Photographers

As wildfire becomes an increasingly lethal force that’s remaking broad swaths of California, people and animals alike are in the hot seat

Blood type, metabolism, exercise, shirt color and even drinking beer can make individuals especially delicious to mosquitoes.

Ask Smithsonian

Why Do Mosquitos Bite Some People More Than Others? Your Blood Type, Sweat Contents and Even Alcohol Consumption May Make You More Attractive to the Pesky Insects

Scientists are working hard to discover the factors that drive the blood-sucking insects to target certain individuals

European gray wolves in Germany

Why Have European Wolves Recovered So Much in the Past Decade?

The predators have increased by almost 60 percent on the continent

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