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Animals

A wolf yawning in the snow near Hesse, Germany.

New Research

Yawning Spreads Like a Plague in Wolves

Evidence of contagious yawning in chimps, dogs and now wolves suggests that the behavior is linked to a mammalian sense of empathy

For the first time in more than a decade, bison will roam at the National Zoo.

The Historic Return of the American Bison

A National Zoo exhibition featuring the animal, long tied to Smithsonian history, opens Saturday

Shrek the sheep (seen here in 2004) held the record for wooliest sheep

Tasmanian Sheep May Be Wooliest In World

Shaun the sheep might beat out the previous champ, Shrek, as the world’s wooliest sheep

How Does Bao Bao Celebrate Her Birthday? With Cake, Bamboo and Hundreds of Fans

The National Zoo hosted a traditional Chinese ceremony for the giant panda’s first birthday

Cool Finds

Oregon Animals Now Have Some Basic Rights Formerly Reserved for Humans

Crimes against animals can’t be lumped all together—each animal victim has to be recognized individually

Cool Finds

Elephant Poachers Also Targeting Vultures

Vultures are being targeted by elephant poachers in Africa

New Research

Geckos Can Control the Movement of Their Toe Hairs

Geckos take advantage of van der Waals forces to run across ceilings, but a simple shift allows them to drop to the ground

Cool Finds

Some Zoo Grass Is Electrified

Some zoo landscaping is designed to keep the animals within their cages, not for them to interact with

Changila, a male elephant who was later killed by poachers near Samburu National Reserve in Kenya.

New Research

Surprise! Science Shows That Elephant Poaching Is Unsustainable

For the first time, scientists have made a comprehensive tally of illegal killing rates across Africa

David Graham, rear, with John Tee-Van, front, with one of the young pandas.

Cool Finds

How an American Missionary Helped Capture the First Panda Given to the U.S.

“Missionaries sometimes have to tackle strange and unusual jobs,” David Graham wrote.

An artist's interpretation of what Hallucigenia sparsa looked like.

New Research

This Weird, 500 Million-Year-Old Spiky Worm With Legs Actually Has a Descendant

Modern-day velvet worms’ jaws are repurposed former claws

Cool Finds

How to Charm Worms Out of the Ground

The art of worm grunting

An olinguito in Tandayapa, Ecuador

One Year After Discovery, Crowdsourcing the Olinguito

A year ago, researchers discovered a rare new species. That was just the beginning

A mountain lion kitten in Malibu Creek State Park.

The Real Cougars of Malibu Have Lives Full of Murder, Bad Sex and Poison

But a simple bridge over the freeway could help save the charismatic big cats

Cool Finds

Why Everyone From Conservationists to Yao Ming to Andrew Cuomo Supports Banning Ivory Sales

Because of corruption and laundering, any system of legal ivory trade threatens the continued existence of elephants

A blue shark near the Azores islands.

Shark Week

Bizarre Blue Shark Nursery Found in the North Atlantic

Rather than emerging in protected coves, baby blue sharks spend their first years in a big patch of open ocean

Concept art for Zootopia by Bjarke Ingels Group

Cool Finds

Is It Wise to Build a Zoo Without Cages?

Being able to mingle with the animals sounds nice, but is it?

New Research

Crawfish Can Convert Blood Cells into Neurons

This neat invertebrate trick could help researchers eventually figure out how to do the same for human cells

A similar species of Irukandji jellyfish, but with the tentacles (and a fishy lunch inside).

Cool Finds

A New, Potentially Deadly Species of Jellyfish Was Discovered Floating Around Australia

The new species’ sting can cause Irukandji syndrome, which sometimes leads to stroke and heart failure

The contested self-portrait.

Trending Today

If a Monkey Takes a Photo, No One Owns Copyright

The contested photo likely belongs to neither monkey nor man, but to the public domain

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