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Animals

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

Paruroctonus soda

These California Teens Discovered Two New Scorpion Species

One of the creatures could be wiped out if its range isn’t protected, researchers say

A European eel swims in the Baltic Sea. 

The Utterly Engrossing Search for the Origin of Eels

To save the endangered animals, researchers have been working for decades to figure out where they reproduce

An artist's renditon of the "alien goldfish." Scientists identified a toothy structure in the animal's gut, suggesting it was some kind of mollusk.

Mysterious ‘Alien Goldfish’ May Have Been a Mollusk

The bizarre creature’s anatomy had stumped scientists for decades

Donkeys are important pack animals that helped shape human civilizations.

Scientists Uncover the Story of Donkey Domestication

Humans tamed the equines about 7,000 years ago in East Africa, new research suggests

A bull walks in front of a cow. If they mate, the bull’s sperm will likely cluster together as they swim through the female’s reproductive organs.

Bull Sperm Get by With a Little Help From Their Friends

Traveling together helps the sperm navigate a tricky, sticky migration through a cow’s reproductive tract

Ants have several key roles in keeping their environments in balance, including aerating the soil, dispersing seeds, decomposing organic material and serving as a food source. 

An Estimated 20 Quadrillion Ants Live on Earth

The weight of the world’s ants exceeds that of all wild birds and mammals combined

A cheetah at Erindi Private Game Reserve in Namibia

Cheetahs Arrive in India After 70 Years of Local Extinction

As part of an ambitious reintroduction plan, conservationists flew in eight of the big cats from Namibia

Calli moves around on land.

Beloved Sea Lion at National Zoo Dies Unexpectedly

Calli, a 17-year-old California sea lion, is remembered by zoo staff as a good mother and ambassador for her species

Barnaby Domigan with the giant earthworm

Nine-Year-Old Finds a Three-Foot-Long Earthworm in His Backyard

The New Zealand boy named the creature “Dead Fred”

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