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Animals

Nat Drummond's surf ski

Shark Attacks Teenager Paddling Off Australian Coast

The shark bit a hole through the boat, but the 19-year-old was unharmed

Streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) sitting on a rock in on Mikura Island in Japan. 

To Survive a Typhoon, Some Seabirds Fly Straight Into It

Streaked shearwaters will face a storm’s high winds rather than risk getting blown to land

A mountain lion, P-22, known to live in the Los Angeles area

L.A.’s Cougars Were Driven to Extremes by Wildfire

With less suitable habitat, the big cats traveled further and crossed dangerous roads more often

The giant sunfish found floating near Faial Island in the Azores archipelago

This 6,000-Pound Sunfish Is the Largest Bony Fish on Record

Fishermen and boaters spotted the colossal creature floating near the Azores islands last December

The eastern lowland gorilla saw an estimated 80 percent decline in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park between 1994 and 2019. 

Animal Populations Faced a ‘Very Sharp Decline’ Since 1970

World Wildlife Fund researchers say vertebrate populations decreased by 69 percent, on average

Two juvenile gray wolves in Washington

Six Endangered Gray Wolves Were Poisoned in Washington

Conservation groups are offering more than $51,000 for information on the killings

Researchers believe woolly mammoths walked into North America 100,000 years ago.

Alaska Couple Finds Massive Mammoth Bone After Storm

Typhoon Merbok’s flooding and winds revealed the complete femur, lying in the mud

The first juvenile collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) raised from a cryopreserved embryo.

Planet Positive

A Graduate Student’s Research Could Help Stop the Spread of Invasive Seaweed in Hawai’i

For the first time, using cryopreservation to freeze sea urchin embryos may help restore coral reefs

A golden-winged warbler perches on a branch in Minnesota. The bird’s declining population worries ornithologists.

More Than Half of U.S. Bird Populations Are Shrinking

An alarming report indicates that dozens of species are likely to become federally endangered without preventive action

Amani, the mother, with her two cubs born October 3. 

Two Cheetah Cubs Born at Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute

The twins are an important addition to their vulnerable species and its dwindling gene pool

A pod of killer whales swims together in Chatham Strait, Alaska. 

Video Footage Captures Orcas Killing Great White Sharks

The predation could explain why the sharks have been locally declining in recent years

The Mirage dolphin exhibit in 2000

Three Dolphins Die at the Mirage in Six Months

The Las Vegas hotel and casino temporarily closed its dolphin exhibit after 11-year-old K2 passed last month

A wax worm on a piece of plastic with holes

Wax Worm Saliva Is the Unlikely Hero of Fighting Plastic Waste

Their enzymes can break down plastic in a matter of hours

Giraffe drinking with oxpecker birds in the background in South Africa

View 16 Breathtaking Images From the Nature Conservancy’s Annual Photo Contest

The winning shots feature everything from glowing mushrooms to sauntering lions

An artist’s reconstruction of Scleromochlus taylori, an ancestor of pterosaurs

The Ancestors of Flying Pterosaurs Were Sleek Reptiles That Ran on the Ground

High definition scans of a fossil reveal the form of an early pterosaur relative

The elkhorn coral is one of the most endangered corals in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys. In Florida alone, the population is reduced by over 95 percent. A coral breeding project using elkhorn coral gametes collected in Florida and Curaçao hopes to give this species a new lease on life. 

This Moonshot for Coral Breeding Was Successful

But the coral are still in tanks, waiting to be released on reefs

A new study provides further evidence that dogs really are man's best friend.

Dogs Can Smell When You’re Stressed Out

A small study suggests that highly sensitive canine noses can pick up on the odors that frazzled humans emit

Five-day-old red-eyed treefrog embryos are tightly curled inside dehydrated eggs packed closely together. It’s dry enough to make them begin to hatch early amid heating.

Panama

When the Heat Is on, Red-Eyed Treefrogs Hatch Early

The embryos make the move from clutches on leaves to rainforest ponds below

César, one of the kidnapped chimpanzees

Three Baby Chimpanzees Kidnapped and Held for Ransom

The abductors are demanding a six-figure sum to return the animals to their sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bison typically roam the tall grasses of the American prairie, but a herd in Grand Canyon National Park has found ways to thrive in forest and desert habitats.

Meet the ‘Forest Ninja Bison’ Living in Grand Canyon National Park

Wildlife managers recently relocated dozens of the iconic animals to help restore balance to the park’s ecosystem

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