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Animals

An entomologist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture vacuums invasive Asian giant hornets out of a nest discovered last week in the city of Blaine on October 24, 2020.

Entomologists Destroy Asian Giant Hornet Nest Found in Washington

The crew sucked nearly 100 hornets from the tree-hollow hive—the first ever found in the U.S.—using a vacuum and captured escapees with nets

The Gollum snakehead is unusual among subterranean critters because it has both eyes and a colorful complexion.

New Research

Subterranean Fish Named ‘Gollum’ Belongs to a New Family

The freshwater fish belongs to a never-before-described taxonomic family, making it one of the biggest finds of the last decade

A diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand the crushing force of 39,000 times its own body weight.

New Research

The Secrets of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle’s Almost Unsquishable Strength

Researchers hopped in a Toyota Camry and drove over the beetle twice…for science—and it survived

Javan slow lorises are now one of only six mammal species known to use venom against individuals of their own species.

The Cute-but-Deadly Slow Loris Reserves Its Flesh-Rotting Venom for Its Peers

The world’s only venomous primates just got weirder

The llamas were preserved through natural mummification, leaving their colorful decorations intact.

Sacrificed Llamas Found in Peru Were Likely a Gift From the Inca

The elaborately decorated animals were probably buried alive alongside similarly adorned guinea pigs

Why does smaller size, like that of the anteater, benefit species in different environments, wondered one Smithsonian reader.

Why Are South American Animals Smaller Than Those on Other Continents?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

“When you have sound, the dingoes will flinch. They’re a bit nervous but they don’t run away. But the wavy man, boy, they bolted," animal behavior researcher Bradley Smith tells Science magazine.

New Research

In Australia, Inflatable Tube Dancers Scare Dingoes Away From Livestock

At car dealerships, the 13-foot-tall flailing contraptions are meant to attract buyers. But on ranches, they scare off predators and protect the herd

Last month in Brooklyn, a man dumped two bags full of eels into Prospect Park Lake. They're thought to be Asian swamp eels, seen here.

Man Seen Dumping Bags of Eels Into Lake at New York City Park

Officials say the non-native eels are unlikely to survive the winter, but experts caution that the serpent-like fish could still disturb the ecosystem

Female Hainan gibbons are bright yellow with black patches while males are completely black.

New Research

Rope Bridges Save the Most Endangered Primates From Making Death-Defying Leaps

After an avalanche destroyed part of the rainforest, a bit of infrastructure connects the gibbons to their favorite fruit-filled trees

Skeleton preparation of a short-tailed fruit bat embryo (Carollia perspicillata) photographed by Dr. Dorit Hockman & Dr. Vanessa Chong-Morrison of the University of Cape Town.

Art Meets Science

From a Zebrafish to Nylon Stockings, See This Year’s Small World Photography Winners

The 46th annual Nikon Small World photography competition honors the best 88 images out of over 2,000 entries

Fish and corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Between a quarter and a third of all marine species spend some part of their life cycle in coral reefs.

New Research

Climate Change Has Killed Half of the Great Barrier Reef’s Corals

A new study finds corals on the Australian mega-reef declined 50 percent between 1995 and 2017

The footprints found at White Sands National Park are more than 10,000 years old.

New Research

Fossilized Footprints Found in New Mexico Track Traveler With Toddler in Tow

Prehistoric tracks detail a moment when mammoths, sloths and humans crossed paths

A reintroduced swift fox outfitted with a GPS collar looks out across the shortgrass prairie of the Fort Belknap Reservation in northern Montana. The tribes on the reservation are bringing the species back to Fort Belknap after an absence of more than 50 years.

Tribes Reintroduce Swift Fox to Northern Montana’s Fort Belknap Reservation

After absence of more than 50 years, the pint-sized predator returns to the prairie

Conservation groups released Tasmanian devils in mainland Australia earlier this month, marking a major milestone in the process of restoring a species that has been missing for thousands of years.

For the First Time in 3,000 Years, Tasmanian Devils Return to Mainland Australia

The marsupial carnivores will roam the outback once again

Sea turtle eggs, rumored to have aphrodisiac properties, are frequently poached from Costa Rican beaches

3-D Printed Sea Turtle Eggs Reveal Poaching Routes

Scientists put GPS locators inside plastic eggs to find trafficking destinations in Costa Rica

More than 580 species of bird, 271 types of fish, 174 mammal species, 131 different reptiles and 57 amphibian species known to inhabit the Pantanal.

Wildlife Suffers as Brazil’s Pantanal Wetland Burns

Fires in the world’s largest tropical wetland have burned an area double that of California’s unprecedented 2020 blazes

A small-banded kukri snake seen with its head thrust inside the body of an Asian common toad. This snake does this to feed on its prey's internal organs, and, perhaps, to avoid the poisonous milky secretions that can be seen on the toad's back.

New Research

This Snake Slurps Organs of Living Toads in Grisly Feeding Strategy

Researchers say no other snakes are known to feed this way, adding that the snakes may feed this way to avoid toxins secreted from the toads’ backs

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Why The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel Is a Wildlife Adventurer’s Dream Destination

Photographer, Carla Rhodes, documents wildlife in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and more

The results of a new study suggest crows are aware of their own sensory perceptions, a hallmark of what's called primary or sensory consciousness.

New Research

Do Crows Possess a Form of Consciousness?

New study suggests the corvids may join humans and some primates as one of the rare animals capable of having subjective experiences

Elephants Kelly Ann and Mable are eligible to move to the White Oak Conservation Center north of Jacksonville, Florida.

Retired Circus Elephants to Move to 2,500-Acre Wildlife Refuge Next Year

Since 2016, about 30 elephants have lived in a 200-acre enclosure managed by Ringling Bros. circus

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