Animals

The illegal trade of wildlife may include animals or plants, or parts of them, such as roots, stems, skin, bones or antlers.

A Look Inside Wildlife Crime Scene Investigators

Scientists are using the latest in DNA fingerprinting to combat the multibillion-dollar business of trafficking plants and animals

A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise.

Why Do Orcas Keep Harassing Porpoises?

An endangered group of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest has been toying with porpoises for decades—and new research offers some possible explanations

Male elephant seals can weigh up to 4,400 pounds.

How This Small Nonprofit Helped Save California’s Elephant Seals

Volunteers with Friends of the Elephant Seal educate tourists to prevent conflicts, inspire awe and keep the marine mammals safe

Adult dugong swimming and feeding in the shallow water of the Red Sea. 

Dugong Populations Are Declining in the Great Barrier Reef, Study Finds

Destruction of seagrass habitats and "indiscriminate" gillnet fishing have both contributed to the marine mammals' dropping numbers, scientists say

The life cycle of the parasitic rat lungworm involves rats spreading it to snails and slugs, which pass it back to rats.

Parasitic, Invasive Worm Found in Rats in Georgia

While the worm can sicken people, few human infections have been reported in the U.S., and it typically doesn’t require treatment

Five flamingos—three adults and two juveniles—hung out for a few hours along the shore of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. One is not pictured here.

Flamingos Spotted in Wisconsin for First Time on Record Amid String of Rare Appearances

Following Hurricane Idalia, the conspicuous pink birds have been sighted in at least 11 states where they don’t typically live

Artistic reconstruction of a group of hominins in direct competition for carrion with a hyena

One Million Years Ago, Our Human Relatives May Have Challenged Giant Hyenas for Carcasses

Groups of hominins might have successfully scavenged large kills, new modeling finds

Orcas are opportunistic feeders that will take advantage of human fishing activities to get an easy meal.

Nine Orcas Have Died in Fishing Gear Near Alaska This Year

A "new behavior" from the animals might be linked to this sudden uptick in deaths, as they have been feeding in front of fishing nets, a trade group says

A mother bear and two cubs in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Before Fat Bear Week, Don’t Forget the Corpulent Cubs Competing in Fat Bear Junior

The offspring of Katmai National Park’s famous brown bears will face off in a bracket all their own

Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere.

Where Did South Africa's Missing Sharks Go?

After a spate of orca attacks spooked the fish, they have now been found

Sheets of ice on top of the ocean in the Antarctic, photographed in February 2000. Sea ice reflects most of the sun's radiation that hits it, keeping the polar regions cool.

Antarctic Winter Sea Ice Hits a Record Low 'by a Wide Margin'

On September 10, the ice reached its lowest annual maximum in the books amid a record-smashing year that's ringing "alarm bells" for polar ice

Warming spurred by Earth's next supercontinent could lead to widespread desert conditions, a new modeling study suggests. Pictured is the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China.

Earth's Next Supercontinent Could Wipe Out Mammals in 250 Million Years

Termed “Pangea Ultima,” the predicted future landmass might be extremely hot, plagued by volcanoes and largely inhospitable, per a new modeling study

Many species of insects work together to ensure safety while on the move or to defend their homes.

Four Unusual and Amazing Ways That Insects Team Up

The invertebrates create elaborate structures to escape danger and shimmer in synchronized performances to confuse predators

Box jellyfish are about the size of a grape.

Brainless Jellyfish Are Capable of Learning, Study Suggests

Scientists provide evidence that tiny Caribbean box jellyfish—which lack a central nervous system—can learn to navigate through mangrove roots

A glistening-green tanager sits in the crook of a leaf.

See Ten Stunning Images From the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

The annual contest unveiled its winners this month, recognizing skilled captures from a striking falcon to grouse performing a courtship display

A Tasmanian tiger at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The last known living Tasmanian tiger died at the zoo in 1936.

Scientists Collect First RNA From an Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

No other RNA has ever been extracted from an extinct species, so the breakthrough opens doors to understanding the biology of long-gone organisms

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on December 6, 2000, the day of their arrival in Washington, D.C.

Revisit 51 Years of Giant Pandas at the National Zoo, From Beloved Babies to Fun in the Snow

The Panda House's eight occupants have played a key role in conservation efforts over the decades

Sea lions breed and give birth at Point La Jolla in San Diego.

San Diego Closes Popular Beach for Seven Years to Protect Sea Lions

Visitors have been getting too close to the marine mammals—taking selfies and even harassing them—as they rear their pups

Methuselah, the oldest fish living in an aquarium, was transported to California in 1938.

Methuselah, the World's Oldest Living Aquarium Fish, Could Be More Than 100

Using a new and noninvasive technique, researchers analyzed the DNA of 33 lungfish in institutions across the U.S. and Australia to determine their ages

BirdCast’s newest advances provide detailed flight forecasts of millions of birds.

Four Amazing Impacts of This A.I.-Powered Bird Migration Tracker

A reimagined tool called BirdCast is helping birders, scientists and even farmers

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