Animals

A Cape fur seal digs in to a blue shark.

Fur Seals Caught Preying on Sharks Off South Africa

The seals only consume the viscera, though, which may be why this particular type of predation took ecologists by surprise

Illustration of Macrauchenia from the forthcoming book "Biggest, Fiercest, Strangest" W. Norton Publishers (in production)

Mystery Mammals' Ancestry Was Revealed by Proteins, Not DNA

The huge rhino-like animal and trunked llama-like animal posed a mystery until now

Walruses in Svalbard

It's Hard to Protect Arctic Mammals When We Don’t Know How Many Live There

Only a handful of animal populations are well counted — leaving researchers in the dark about how threatened the others are

A large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats can consume an estimated 250 tons of insects in a single night.

These Bats Use Sonar to Jam the Signals of Their Rivals

How hungry Mexican free-tails sabotage the competition

Who Determined That the Sun Was a Star and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The natural habitats of many bumblebees are nearly gone and restoring floral diversity is vital to promote their survival.

Can Returning Farmland to the Wild Help Bumblebees in Crisis?

Even if only a small percentage of current farmland became wild meadows, it could bring populations back to previous levels

A barn owl by the light of the moon.

Best Places to See Nature After Dark

The sun may power most of our world—but some things come alive only at night

Terrifying. An ancestor of the modern-day croc stood nine feet tall and walked on its hind legs. It's been lovingly christened the "Carolina Butcher."

Before There Were Crocodiles, There Was the "Carolina Butcher"

A newly discovered crocodilian ancestor was a nine-foot-tall predator that stood on its hind legs

35-year old male chimp Frodo enjoying Mbula fruit he collected in Gombe National Park, Tanzania

Chimps Will Work Harder to Get Their Favorite Foods

An experimental setup shows that chimps will travel farther to get a more preferred reward

Why are Dead Geese Falling From the Sky in Idaho?

Over 2,000 birds have been felled by fast-moving avian cholera

Who’s Beheading Animals in Sacramento?

Officials can’t figure out who’s behind a bizarre rash of animal mutilations in California’s capital

Geckos have amazingly-structured feet, but new research indicates that the lizards' skin also possesses exceptional properties.

Water Drops Leap Off Gecko Skin Thanks to Tiny Spines

Specialized hydrophobic structures on gecko skin encourage dewdrops to be swept away by the wind or to collide and shoot off one another like pool balls

Scanning electron micrograph of a greenfly eye. Greenflies (aphid) have a pair of compound eyes. The small protrusion coming from the side of the eye is called an ocular tubercle, and it is made up of three lenses.

A Goat's Stomach Never Looked So Good

Eleven venues worldwide will exhibit these 20 striking micrographs, MRI scans and illustrations—all winners of this year's Wellcome Image Awards

Elephants perform in Wisconsin in 1980.

Ringling Brothers Is Phasing Out Its Elephant Act

After years of fielding controversy and claims of abuse, “The Greatest Show on Earth” will soon be retiring its trained elephants for good

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How Praying Mantises Can Jump Faster Than the Blink of an Eye

Stunning slow-mo videos capture juvenile mantises as they corkscrew through the air and precisely land their target

Killer whale mothers know best.

After Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders

When their reproductive years are done, females take on new roles as wise survival guides

A herd of domesticated beefalo in Montana. After interbreeding, free-ranging beefalos currently causing problems in the Grand Canyon appear both physically and genetically close to native bison.

A Beefalo Invasion Is Causing Trouble in the Grand Canyon

Hundreds of the hybrid animals are drying up water resources and messing with the ecosystem, eliciting calls for culling

Dog sled racing is a classic bit of fun in Alaska. But as that state warms, organizers are having to move or cancel races.

While the U.S. East Shivers, Unusual Heat Stirs Trouble Across the Globe

Cancelled dog-sled races and restless grizzly bears serve as reminders that global warming is still at work

Wildlife photographer Christophe Courteau, 46, was taking snaps of a group of silverback gorillas in the forest of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda when the alpha male of the family began to charge at him.

Can a Gorilla Really Get Drunk From Bamboo?

A photographer was punched by an allegedly drunk gorilla—but wildlife biologists are crying foul

Smokey the bear being given a fire helmet by Washington Fire Departments’ deputy fire chief, M.H. Sutton in 1950

The Real Smokey Bear Has A New Biography

It’s officially licensed by the Forest Service and written from Smokey’s point of view

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