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Animals

Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) get jealous of their siblings' grooming sessions. 

Like Humans, Baboons Get Jealous of Their Siblings

A new study found that young baboons try to interrupt their mother when she is grooming a sibling

Bird flu devastated a colony of northern gannets, seabirds almost the size of albatrosses, on Bass Rock in Scotland. Researchers working with the birds are holding onto hope that the breeding population will slowly build the colony back.

After a Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak, Scotland’s Seabirds Are Slowly Recovering—and So Are the Scientists Who Witnessed Their Decline

The world’s largest colony of northern gannets was decimated by bird flu in 2022. Now, as their numbers climb again, researchers are collecting data to understand the virus’ lasting effects

The greater Bermuda land snail

Scientists Once Thought This Snail Was Extinct. But a Surprising Discovery and Decade-Long Conservation Effort Revived the Species

Conservationists have bred and released more than 100,000 greater Bermuda land snails

European robins normally live in western Eurasia and parts of North Africa, but this one somehow ended up in Canada.

Bird-Watchers Flock to Montreal to Catch a Glimpse of Canada’s First Known European Robin

Experts don’t know how the little songbird traveled across the Atlantic Ocean

An elephant has about 1,000 whiskers on its trunk.

An Elephant’s Trunk Is Covered in Whiskers—and They’re Unlike Those on Any Other Animal, a New Study Suggests

Hundreds of the specialized hairs help the poor-sighted creatures navigate the world

Once treated by humans as prey, horses became key to transportation, warfare, trade and companionship. Their history is intertwined with our own.

Gallop Into the Year of the Horse With These Five Amazing Equine Discoveries

Since their domestication, horses have changed the course of human history. It’s no wonder the Chinese zodiac associates them with prosperity and success

An artistic representation of T. heberti snacking on some greens.

Cool Finds

A Football-Size Creature That Lived 307 Million Years Ago May Have Been One of the First Land Vertebrates to Eat Plants

“Hebert’s tyrant digger” had teeth built for grinding tough veggies, a new study suggests

Rhesus macaques at the Oregon National Primate Research Center

A Massive Monkey Research Center Might Turn Into a Primate Sanctuary. Animal Activists Rejoice, While Scientists Worry

The Oregon National Primate Research Center will explore a potentially federally supported transition with the National Institutes of Health

The 244-pound fish was the 27th halibut caught this season.

Ice Fishermen Catch Record-Breaking 244-Pound Atlantic Halibut After Hours-Long Struggle

Six men spent more than two hours tugging the massive flatfish from a frozen fjord in Quebec as part of a research project studying halibut populations in the region

A gray wolf in California.

A Gray Wolf Visited Los Angeles County for the First Time in a Century, Marking a Major Milestone in the Species’ Recovery

The 3-year-old female wolf, called BEY03F, is probably looking for a mate

Paleontologists have found early examples of theropods, the group that would eventually include tyrannosaurs. But precisely how another group of dinosaurs, known as the bird-hipped ornithischians, evolved remains a major question in paleontology.

An Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. But How Did Their Reign Begin? Mysterious Early Reptiles May Hold the Answer

Researchers are uncovering the evolutionary steps that set the stage for dinosaurs to rule the planet

Larvae of the European black oil beetle, which are orange, ride bees to their nests and then chow down on bee eggs.

These Parasitic Beetles Mimic the Smell of Flowers So They Can Trick Bees and Raid Their Nests, New Research Suggests

They might be the first animals known to fake a floral scent

Scientists found that fringe-lipped bats have a roughly 50 percent success rate when trying to capture prey.

These Lazy Bats Are Super-Efficient Killers That Carefully Conserve Energy to Attack at a Moment’s Notice

Wild fringe-lipped bats spend just one-tenth of the night in flight, but they can precisely snatch a calling frog and nab prey that rivals their own size

A giant phantom jelly documented by a recent deep-sea expedition

See a Rare, Bus-Size Giant Phantom Jelly Wade Through Ocean Waters Off the Coast of Argentina

A recent deep-sea expedition along the country’s entire length documented the jellyfish, along with a surprising number of other species

Stoats, also often known as ermines, are carnivorous mammals in the weasel family. Two stoats are the mascots of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

What Is a Stoat? Learn Five Fun Facts About the Adorable Weasels Chosen as the Olympic Mascots

Milo and Tina, a pair of sibling stoats, are representing this year’s winter games in Italy

A small underwater lens made a coral in Indonesia look like another common lifeform.

See the Beauty of Corals, Beehives, Mushrooms and More in These 11 Images From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards

Now in its seventh year, the competition honors macro, micro and close-up images snapped around the world

Volunteers repairing the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, England, in 2019

This Massive Hillside Figure Has Mystified Historians for Centuries. Now, Donations Have Secured the Surrounding Landscape

The National Trust has purchased the land around England’s Cerne Abbas Giant, which will help protect the mysterious chalk figure and nearby wildlife for future generations

After exposing an ant to the air pollutant ozone, its nestmates acted aggressively toward it.

Air Pollution Can Cause Some Ants to Turn on One Another—and Neglect Their Young, New Research Suggests

The findings further hint that air pollution, particularly ozone, is contributing to the “insect apocalypse”

Sceptobius beetles groom ants to steal the pheromones that they produce. The beetles cloak themselves in those pheromones to match the scent of the ant colony, gaining the ability to live among the ants undetected.

These Beetles Are Entirely Dependent on Ants for Survival. Here’s Why That’s Not an Evolutionary Death Sentence

Rove beetles cloak themselves in ant pheromones to sneak into the insects’ nests for protection. But in an odd catch-22, that makes them forever reliant on their hosts

A polar bear cub walks along the ice in Svalbard, Norway.

See 24 Astounding Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest—and Vote for Your Favorite

The public will choose the winner of the People’s Choice award in a vote that runs from February 4 to March 18

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