Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Animals

It was Rebel’s fate, like many caught up in the war, to experience captivity and displacement.

America's 250th Anniversary

The Dog Who Served on Both Sides of the American Revolution

A newly discovered letter suggests a Newfoundland named Rebel accompanied both Continental and British officers into battle

Hogfish can change their color in less than a second to blend in with their surroundings.

How Color-Changing Hogfish Use Their Skin to ‘See’ Themselves

Light-sensitive proteins in the fish’s skin could play a role in monitoring how they camouflage, researchers theorize in a new study

The rare all-brown giraffe was born in July.

See the Rare Spotless Giraffe Born at a Tennessee Zoo

The baby might be the only all-brown giraffe on the planet, as the last one on record was born in 1972

Hugh Gray's famous 1933 photo of a creature he believed to be Nessie

Loch Ness Monster Lovers Come Together for Biggest Hunt in 50 Years

Volunteers will convene in the Scottish Highlands armed with drones, hydrophones and other technologies

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is trying to keep ‘akikiki from going extinct.

How Maui’s Wildfires Threatened Endangered Birds

Conservationists battled back flames to prevent them from reaching roughly 40 ‘akikiki in captivity

Though she appeared to be in good health just days earlier, Lolita died of a suspected renal condition.

Lolita the Orca Dies After More Than 50 Years in Captivity

Several groups were working to remove the 7,000-pound creature from the Miami Seaquarium and return her to the ocean at the time of her death

The yellow-legged hornet, native to Southeast Asia, has invaded other parts of Asia and Europe and feeds on insects, including honeybees.

Invasive Yellow-Legged Hornet Spotted in the U.S. for the First Time

The insect, detected in Georgia, can snatch bees from the air while hunting, posing a threat to native pollinators and agriculture

A wolf spotted in the Sequoia National Forest

New Pack of Endangered Gray Wolves Discovered in California

The pack, which consists of a mother and her four offspring, is now the state’s southernmost wolf group

Scientists know very little about the social behaviors of great white sharks, but they're trying to learn more.

How Two Great White Shark ‘Buddies’ Could Change Perceptions of the Species

A pair of great white sharks named Simon and Jekyll have been swimming together for more than 4,000 miles in recent months

Antlers remain intact for hundreds to thousands of years.

How Conservation Paleobiology Serves as a Guide for Restoring Ecosystems

Researchers use historic remnants like antlers, shells, teeth and pollen to learn how natural communities once worked

The remains likely belong to a Qinling panda rather than a Sichuan panda. Pictured: Qi Zai, a Qinling panda born in captivity

Cool Finds

Fully Intact Giant Panda Skeleton Discovered in Chinese Emperor’s 2,000-Year-Old Tomb

Archaeologists previously found a panda skull in a nearby Han burial, but its torso was missing

Scientists are investigating how blood cells or other parts of blood might be responsible for aging.

Old Mice Could Live Longer by Sharing Young Blood, Study Finds

After surgically attaching pairs of mice, scientists suggest the procedure could rejuvenate the older individuals, slowing their aging

One of the most popular species identification tools is iNaturalist. Since its creation in 2008, the app has logged more than 145 million observations from around the world.

The Race to Develop Artificial Intelligence That Can Identify Every Species on the Planet

Scientists are building machine-learning-powered software that can recognize a species based solely on a cellphone picture

The snake's new enclosure is specially designed to help the creature avoid hurting itself.

A Rare Two-Headed Snake Is Back on Exhibit at a Texas Zoo

Pancho and Lefty, as the western rat snake is known, has now healed from an injury it suffered more than two years ago

Egyptian paleontologists Abdullah Gohar, Mohamed Sameh and Hesham Sallam are part of the study team that discovered the fossil and identified the new species of basilosaurid whale.

Fossil of Tiny, Extinct Whale Discovered in Egypt, Named for King Tut

The species was around the size of a bottlenose dolphin and thrived 41 million years ago

A trumpetfish shadows a parrotfish. A new study suggests that this tactic makes it harder for prey to notice the predatory trumpetfish behind the non-threatening, plant-eating parrotfish.

These Long, Skinny Fish Hide Behind Bigger Fish to Sneak Up on Their Prey

Scientists made 3D-printed models of fish and tested them in the ocean to study this clever hunting strategy

Vasectomies should allow male peacocks to maintain their established pecking order while also preventing them from reproducing with multiple females.

Can Peacock Vasectomies Save This Florida Town?

Residents of Pinecrest don’t want to kill the colorful birds, but they do want to keep their growing population in check

Researchers are rediscovering the forgotten legacy of Charles Henry Turner.

This Pioneering Black Zoologist’s Insights Were a Century Ahead of Their Time

Charles Henry Turner conducted trailblazing research on the cognitive traits of bees, spiders and more

As one Nile crocodile rests, another perks up near a river in Tanzania.

Nile Crocodiles Recognize and React to the Sound of Crying Babies

The reptiles may be aware that primate infants are in trouble—and an easy meal

The young swell shark glows under a blacklight. The swell shark's eyes have adapted to filter out other wavelengths of light so they can better see other sharks.

See the Baby Glow-in-the-Dark Shark Hatched at the Tennessee Aquarium

In coastal waters, swell sharks appear a glowing green color to other members of their species due to a special eye adaptation

Page 59 of 224