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Animals

This month, several news outlets misleadingly reported that women's birth control was causing "transgender" fish.

How One Bad Science Headline Can Echo Across the Internet

Recent articles claiming birth control causes “transgender” fish show how science communication can mislead—even when it relies on facts

The Pleistocene world was filled with megafauna like woolly mammoths and saber-tooth cats. Did humans kill them all off?

New Research

Are Humans to Blame for the Disappearance of Earth’s Fantastic Beasts?

100,000 years ago, giant sloths, wombats and cave hyenas roamed the world. What drove them all extinct?

The fin of a blacktip shark glides through the waters in the Bahamas.

New Research

Ten Things We’ve Learned about Sharks Since Last Shark Week

In light of Shark Week 2017, here are some revelations about the fearsome fish we’ve made in the past year

First Pet Socks poses in the White House Press Room in 1993.

The First Pet Position in the Trump White House Will Remain Open—for Meow

Animals have served as companions and ambassadors for presidents dating back to George Washington

Kyara swimming next to her mother, Takara. At the time of her death, Kyara was just three months old.

Trending Today

Last Orca Born at SeaWorld Dies

The three-month-old creature succumbed to a case of pneumonia, according to the park

Stubbs poses on a car in a 2006 photo.

Small Alaska Town Mourns Loss of Stubbs the Cat, Beloved Honorary Mayor

Stubbs reigned with a light paw and a loyal following

A "flukeprint" is a patch of calm water on the surface created when a whale flaps its tail as it cruises along just out of sight.

How to Spot a Hidden Whale

Just as a hunter leaves a trail in the snow, a whale forms prints on the water’s surface

Here, wildebeest find themselves trapped by high cliffs while crossing the Mara River in Africa's Serengeti. Every year thousands of wildebeest die while crossing the river due to strong currents or crossing at dangerous sites.

New Research

The Upside of Rotting Carcasses

Large animals dying en masse are crucial to the the Serengeti—and they aren’t the only ones

Snooty, World’s Oldest Captive Manatee, Dies in Accident

The 69-year-old sea cow was the mascot for the South Florida Museum

The cheetah population almost halved since 1975 with only an estimated 7,100 left in the wild today.

Future of Conservation

How to Help Cheetahs Live Longer in Captivity

The key is in what we feed them, researchers surmise

The preserved whale heart weighs approximately 400 pounds.

Canada

The Painstaking Process of Preserving a 400-Pound Blue Whale Heart

This massive specimen is now on display in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum

Moonlight's cub was born on June 17.

Meet the Zoo’s Newborn Red Panda Cubs, Who Just Opened Their Eyes

The three cubs were born within days of each other at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

A captive wolf greets a stranger in an experiment testing the sociability of dogs and their ancestors

What Makes Fido So Friendly? It Could Be Genetic

Mutations in several genes linked to hypersocial behavior in people may have helped along canine domestication

One wave of domestication or two? The debate rages on.

New Research

New Study Has a Bone to Pick With Dog Domestication Findings

Contrary to past research, a new DNA study suggests fido was only tamed once

A red fox listening for prey under the snow in Yellowstone National Park. Noise can affect foxes and other animals that rely on their hearing when they hunt.

How Human Noise Ruins Parks for Animals and People

Even in America’s most pristine wildernesses, unwanted sound is changing landscapes

New Research

What Is the Key to Predict Animal Speed?

The biggest animals aren’t always the fastest

As the American Buffalo Declined, Its Symbolism Rose

Over the years, the American buffalo, or bison, has been a symbol of the American frontier

Cool Finds

Lioness Spotted Nursing a Leopard Cub in Tanzania

It is the first time that a wild cat has been observed “adopting” another species—but the interaction may not have a happy end

Cool Finds

Watch the Sri Lankan Navy Rescue an Elephant Stranded at Sea

It took 12 hours for a team of navy personnel, divers and wildlife officials to pull the creature back to shore

Adorable New Tiger Cub Born at the Zoo Yips at Its Mom on Video

The new Sumatran tiger cub signals a success in efforts to save the critically endangered species

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