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Animals

Dogs, like humans, use mimicry to enhance social bonds.

New Research

Dogs Mimic Each Other’s Expressions, Too

The behavioral findings hint that dogs, like humans, might be capable of their own form of empathy

This photo of two short-nosed sea snakes alerted researchers to the species' survival, even though they were thought to be extinct for 15 years.

New Research

They’re Back: Supposedly Extinct Sea Snakes Have Been Found in Australia

Nearly 15 years later and about 1,000 miles away from the last sighting, the snakes could be making a comeback

Top Nine Ocean Stories That Had Us Talking in 2015

From fossil whales to adorable octopuses, here are some of the marine headliners that caught our attention this year

Divers approach a bull shark in the water off Mauritius. Though environmental conditions are much the same in Mauritius and neighboring La Réunion, the latter is one of the most dangerous shark-attack spots in the world.

Age of Humans

Why Is This Indian Ocean Island a Hot Spot for Shark Attacks?

La Réunion has seen way more attacks than its neighbor Mauritius, and scientists are struggling to figure out why

A forest elephant takes an unintentional selfie in a camera-trap photo snapped in South Sudan.

Rare Forest Elephants Seen for the First Time in South Sudan

A recent camera trap survey also spied a wealth of other species thriving in remote forests despite the young country’s civil unrest

A dog mascot named Whisky in the arms of his captain Wolfgang Erhart on board a German ship in the harbor of New York in 1962

Cool Finds

The British Navy Has a Long History of Adopting Animal Mascots

Ships’ pets included dogs, cats and some other animals that were more unusual

The IVF pups were more than 30 years in the making.

New Research

These Baby Beagles Are the First Dogs Born by In Vitro Fertilization

After more than 30 years, scientists have figured out how to create healthy puppies in the lab

Trending Today

See the Vatican Light Up With Images Warning Against Climate Change

Animals prowled across St. Peter’s Basilica in a move to connect Earth’s beauty with the dangers of climate change

A lioness from the Marsh Pride in Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya, the group of lions that was poisoned

Trending Today

Bibi the Lioness, a BBC Star, Was Found Poisoned

Bibi and another unidentified lion killed by the poison were part of a pride that filmmakers followed for years

New Research

This Is How Dolphins ‘See’ Humans With Echolocation

A news study capture images of what dolphins ‘see’ underwater

A floating platform in Skadar Lake entices pelicans to build their nests here, protecting them from floods.

Age of Humans

How Floating Nests May Save One of the World’s Largest Water Birds

Designed to withstand floods, the rafts are helping the Dalmatian pelican make a comeback in Montenegro and Albania

The mammoth nursery turned graveyard was declared a National Monument in July 2015.

What Killed the Mammoths of Waco?

Sixty-six thousand years ago, this national monument was the site of a deadly catastrophe

Impalas and baboons take a snack break under a sausage tree.

New Research

Impalas Hang Out With Baboons for Sausage Fruits and Safety

Forget Timon and Pumbaa: In the African savannah, the best friends around may be impalas and baboons

Thick-billed murres gathering on Coats Island in the Canadian Arctic. New research is finding that these and other birds are bringing ocean pollution back onto land; the birds eat contaminated fish and poop out the chemicals.

Age of Humans

Seabirds Are Dumping Pollution-Laden Poop Back on Land

Chemicals we’ve poured into the ocean are coming back to sting us thanks to seabirds defecating in their onshore colonies

Cool Finds

Tennessee Locals Spot Half-Mile-Long Spider Webs

Ballooning baby spiders are making some residents of North Memphis cringe

These vicuñas are awaiting a haircut at Pulario in Bolivia.

Poaching Upsurge Threatens South America’s Iconic Vicuña

Brought back from the brink of extinction, the llama-like animals have attracted the attention of poachers eager to turn a profit from their prized wool

A holiday postcard from 1908.

Your Thanksgiving Turkey Is a Quintessentially American Bird: An Immigrant

The turkeys common on U.S. tables descended from a Mexican species and were originally bred for Maya rituals

Say hello to the tardigrade, an extreme gene machine.

New Research

Water Bears Are the Master DNA Thieves of the Animal World

Foreign genes from bacteria, fungi and plants may have bestowed these animals with their ability to tolerate boiling, freezing and the vacuum of space

Army ants really know how to take the road less travelled.

New Research

Army Ants Act Like Algorithms to Make Deliveries More Efficient

The marauding ants know just where to place living bridges to create shortcuts without sacrificing their food-gathering prowess

Nola poses for the camera earlier this fall

Trending Today

Northern White Rhinos Now Number Three

The 41-year-old Nola died this week, leaving only three northern white rhinos left in the world

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