Articles tagged as Animals | Smithsonian Magazine

Broadcast towers will soon blink for the sake of birds.

With a simple blink, tall towers can go from deadly to bird-friendly

March 31, 2016

New Research

305-Million-Year-Old Fossil Helps Unravel the Spider’s Evolutionary Web

The spider look-alike shows what separates modern spiders from their ancient eight-legged cousins

March 30, 2016

Europe

Save a Horse, Ride a Cow Through the Swiss Alps

A farm in Switzerland offers a slow moo-tion ride through the alpine countryside

March 30, 2016

A bison takes a stroll down the road in Elk Island National Park, Alberta

Next week, the Blackfeet Tribe will receive 89 buffalo calves that descended from Montana stock in a Canadian National Park

March 29, 2016

A black rhino takes to the air in the first stage of its venture during the 2013 World Wildlife Fund's Black Rhino Expansion Project.

A new project is flying rhinos from South Africa to Australia to create a “biological insurance policy” against increased poaching

March 28, 2016

$Just a fraction of the nearly 25,000 pounds of diamondback rattlesnakes displayed at the 2016 Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas.$

One of the world’s largest rattlesnake roundup bagged nearly 25,000 pounds of rattlers this year

March 25, 2016

Coquerel's Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) trio in trees, Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

Why People Turn to Lemurs and Other Endangered Animals for Dinner in Madagascar

A close look at trade in bushmeat finds that consumption is common and out in the open

March 25, 2016

New Research

Prairie Dogs: The Fiercest Killers in the West

New study reveals white-tailed prairie dogs attack and kill ground squirrels with no provocation

March 23, 2016

Giraffes make their way across the Mara River. Whether they’re ambling or galloping, giraffes maintain balance by moving their necks in synchrony with their legs.

What Elephants, Zebras and Lions Do When They Think No One’s Watching

The stunning results when a photographer uses remote cameras to capture Africa’s great beasts

April 2016

Weird Animals

Storks Move to a Trashy Neighborhood

White storks in Portugal and Spain are forgoing thier annual migration to Africa to pig out in landfills

March 18, 2016

With one chick hatched, there’s another still to come

March 18, 2016

But the orcas currently living in its parks will remain there for the rest of their lives

March 17, 2016

The dorsal side of Oneis tanana, which could be the only butterfly species endemic to the Alaskan Arctic.

New Research

A New Species of Butterfly Was Hiding in Plain Sight

The Tanana Arctic could be a rare butterfly hybrid—and it’s the first such find in nearly 30 years

March 17, 2016

An artist's rendering shows what a Tully Monster might have looked like 300 million years ago.

New Research

What Is a Tully Monster? Scientists Finally Think They Know

The oddball fossil that puzzled experts for almost 60 years is probably an ancient fish akin to today’s bloodsucking lampreys

March 16, 2016

A nonvenomous Texas rat snake coils up in a defensive posture.

New Research

To Scientists’ Surprise, Even Nonvenomous Snakes Can Strike at Ridiculous Speeds

The Texas rat snake was just as much of a speed demon as deadly vipers, challenging long-held notions about snake adaptations

March 15, 2016

Cool Finds

Recently Discovered Spider Is Named After Physicist Brian Greene

About the size of the human palm, the “Brian” spider can swim and hunt fish

March 11, 2016

Elephants in Kenya's Tana River, Morgan's home territory

Meet Morgan, whose 3-week trek shows anti-poaching efforts could be working

March 11, 2016

Each year, FLAP lays out birds collected by volunteers in a bid to raise awareness about the dangers of bird/building collisions.

It’s all part of a bid to raise awareness of the plight of birds that crash into city buildings

March 10, 2016

Scientists studied Hydra vulgaris to determine how the animal opens its mouth

New Research

How Hydra Rip Open New Mouths at Every Meal

Scientists finally figured out how the tiny aquatic creature opens its mouth to eat

March 10, 2016

Despite the positive intentions behind relocation, conservationists worry that it will hurt the tortoises more than it helps

March 10, 2016