New Zealand | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/new-zealand-1/RSS feed for New ZealandenFri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000Here's Why These Male Spiders Sacrifice Themselves by Somersaulting Into Females' Fangs While Matinghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/A new study suggest that even strange, complex animal behaviors can have a relatively simple genetic basisFri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/Notorious Feral Cat That Feasted on Rare New Zealand Ducks Captured After Three-Year Hunthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nine-lives-a-feral-cat-hunting-rare-ducks-in-new-zealand-has-been-caught-and-killed-after-three-years-180989267/The gray tabby, known as Nine Lives because it eluded capture so many times, had devastated efforts by conservationists to reintroduce the birds to the wildThu, 06 Aug 2026 17:42:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nine-lives-a-feral-cat-hunting-rare-ducks-in-new-zealand-has-been-caught-and-killed-after-three-years-180989267/Poop From Southern Right Whales Reveals That the Animals Might Be More Resilient to Climate Change Than We Thoughthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poop-from-southern-right-whales-reveals-that-the-animals-might-be-more-resilient-to-climate-change-than-we-thought-180989131/Scientists long believed that these whales, which swim throughout the Southern Hemisphere, mainly feasted on krill and small crustaceans called copepods, which are disappearing from the warming ocean. A new study suggests that the cetaceans have a more varied, flexible dietMon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poop-from-southern-right-whales-reveals-that-the-animals-might-be-more-resilient-to-climate-change-than-we-thought-180989131/