Articles tagged as Animals | Smithsonian Magazine

In meerkat society, social rank is determined by size. New research shows that meerkats engage in competitive eating to stay on top.

Welcome to the Meerkat’s World of Competitive Eating

When vying for dominance, meerkats increase their food intake to bulk up and maintain their place on the social pecking order

May 25, 2016

Cool Finds

Fake Blood and All, the Next-Gen Veggie Burger Is Set to Debut at Whole Foods

With creations of pea proteins and beet pulp, Beyond Meat hopes to mimic beef as closely as possible

May 24, 2016

New Research

Where Red Birds Get Their Vibrant Hues

Two studies identify the same gene that makes red birds crimson—and perhaps helps them shed toxins, too

May 23, 2016

Duke Riley's pigeons taking off for a performance of "Fly BY Night."

Cool Finds

A Giant Flock of Pigeons Is Lighting up New York’s Night Sky

The show is meant to illustrate that pigeons aren’t rats with wings

May 23, 2016

Trending Today

Nile Crocodiles Have Moved to Florida

Three “unusual” crocodilians turned out to be more closely related to South African crocs than American ones

May 20, 2016

The Best National Parks for Wildlife Spotting

Plan your national park visits around prime viewing hours

May 20, 2016

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, trainer Franck Canniet, far right, trains rangers for a confrontation with poachers.

The Fight Against Elephant Poachers Is Going Commando

In central Africa, a former Israeli military trainer and his team are deploying battle-tested tactics to stop the runaway slaughter of elephants

June 2016

A mother and baby bison in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Don’t touch the wildlife

May 17, 2016

This brittle star, Sigsbeia oloughlini, was found the coast of Esperance, Western Australia.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Meet the Diverse and Bizarre “Stars” of the Deep Sea

As human activities encroach on remote oceans, scientists work to map the denizens of the deep

May 11, 2016

New Research

Leprosy Threatens U.K. Red Squirrel Populations

Researchers have launched a new study to try to save the furry rodents

May 10, 2016

A furled chameleon tail obviously takes its shape from the rolling of a tube, but its pattern is distinct from that created by rolling an even tube, such as that of a garden hose. The gentle taper of the tail produces a logarithmic spiral—one that gets smaller, yet the small parts look like the large parts.

Art Meets Science

The Science Behind Nature’s Patterns

A new book explores the physical and chemical reasons behind incredible visual structures in the living and non-living world

May 10, 2016

Sweden wants to ban live American lobsters for fear they will out-claw their own

May 9, 2016

Cute Baby Animals You Have to See This Spring

Check out what’s new at the zoo

May 9, 2016

Atopodentatus used its odd-shaped head to vacuum up food from the sea floor hundreds of millions of years ago.

Weirdo Ancient Marine Reptile Had a Vacuum-Shaped Head

Animal probably slurped up plant material from the seafloor

May 9, 2016

New Research

The Oldest Species May Win in the Race to Survive Climate Change

It’s survival of the fittest, and the oldest may be the fittest, new study says

May 5, 2016

Facing food and water shortages, the country hopes to save it’s wildlife

May 5, 2016

Fowl flu fuels foie gras fears

May 5, 2016

Art Meets Science

These Eerie Portraits Capture Endangered and Extinct Animals in a Film That Is Also Vanishing

Denis Defibaugh uses Polaroid 55 film to give animal specimens an afterlife

May 5, 2016

Warm waters have turned the country’s once-pristine coast into a putrid sight

May 4, 2016

Important information about a cheetah can be found in its feces.

A Fecal Pellet’s Worth A Thousand Words

Scientists can learn a surprising amount about an animal just by analyzing its poop

May 4, 2016