Baby Animals

Emperor penguins are the world's largest penguin, standing almost four feet tall and weighing around 88 pounds. They live almost exclusively in Antarctica and need sea ice to survive.

Climate Change Poised to Push Emperor Penguins to the Brink of Extinction

Study estimates 98 percent of colonies will be quasi-extinct by 2100 unless the world drastically reduces its greenhouse gas emissions

Paleontologist François Therrien measures the jaws of a Gorgosaurus.

Tyrannosaurs Dominated Their Cretaceous Ecosystems

Studies of body size and bite force show that the predators, from babies to adults, filled many niches in their environment

Two researchers observe a bird carcass found at a wind energy facility.

Dogs Sniff Out Answers to Bat and Bird Fatalities Near Wind Turbines

Aided by canines, researchers found larger models do not necessarily pose a greater threat to wildlife

The butterflies have experienced major losses in populations on both the East and West coasts.

Climate Change Is Decimating Monarch Populations, Research Shows

Western monarchs have lost 99.9 percent of their numbers since the 1980s

Vinegaroons spray acetic acid—the substance that gives vinegar its pungent scent—from their tails.

Acid-Spraying, Lobster-Like Arachnids Emerge in Texas to Look for Love

Summer rains send vinegaroons scurrying from their burrows in the desert

Officers Paul Douglas (left) and Theodore Santos (right) stand with their newest Covid-19 K9 unit: a female black lab named Huntah (left) and a male golden lab-retriever mix, Duke (right).

Massachusetts Becomes First U.S. State to Enlist Covid-Sniffing Canines

Duke and Huntah are first dogs used by law enforcement to detect coronavirus cases

A dwarf cow named Rani stands next to a more normal sized cow on a farm in Bangladesh.

This 20-Inch-Tall Cow Could Be the World's Smallest Ever

Meet Rani, a pint-size bovine in Bangladesh, who has drawn thousands of adoring fans to her farm

A 2018 estimate suggests 50 million giant goldfish may swim in Lake Ontario.

Nearly 30 Football-Sized Goldfish Caught in Minnesota Lake

When tiny fish are released in large bodies of water, they can grow to prodigious sizes, officials warn

A seabird known as the white tern or Manu-o-Kū has surprised birders by taking up residence in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Meet the White Tern, a Seabird Surprisingly Thriving in a Big City

The bird—also known as Manu-o-Kū—has excited ornithologists, its population growing within Honolulu, the busiest of Hawai'i's urban landscapes

The tyrannosaur Nanuqsaurus with its young

Dinosaurs Nested in the High Arctic

Tiny fossils of polar dinosaurs suggest that the reptiles stayed year-round

A new analysis of a ceramic jar discovered in Athens suggest its owners placed the curse ahead of a lawsuit.

Ancient Athenians Used a Jar Filled With Chicken Bones to Curse Their Enemies

The object's owners inscribed the names of at least 55 intended victims on its surface

A young puppy responds to a human pointing to a treat during an experiment conducted by scientists at the University of Arizona.

Puppies Are Born Ready to Communicate With Humans

A new study finds very young dogs with little human contact can understand pointing gestures—and that the ability has a strong genetic basis

Illustration of Smilodon fatalis cubs playing together.

The Softer Side of Sabercats

The iconic fanged predators may have raised their young for years—dragging baby mastodon bones home for them and slowly teaching them how to hunt

A young green sea turtle with a solar-powered satellite tag that was used to track it to the Sargasso Sea.

Baby Sea Turtles Spend 'Lost Years' in Sargasso Sea

Researchers used tracking tags to solve the mystery of where young green sea turtles go after they hatch on the beach

Whether they are left- or right-handed, mothers tend to carry their babies on the left side of their bodies.

14 Fun Facts About the Science of Motherhood

A short list of the amazing changes and behaviors that transform both humans and animals on the journey of motherhood

Bears with intensifying symptoms either die or are require euthanasia. Those that survive require lifetime treatments and can't return to the wild.

A Puzzling Brain Disease Is Killing Black Bears in the Western United States

Some animals showing signs of a neurological disorder had brain inflammation, but the cause is still unknown

Foster mother, BD, feeds her adopted vampire bat pup in a captive bat colony at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama.

Baby Vampire Bat Adopted by Mom's Best Friend

The strong relationship formed between two female adult vampire bats may have motivated one of the bats to adopt the other’s baby

The first cheetah cub born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute celebrated his 10th birthday last year, marking a decade of the facility's successful cheetah breeding program.

Five Cheetah Stories From the National Zoo

Take a look back at some of the milestones the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s cheetah team has celebrated since the program began

Wisdom, a 70-year-old Laysan albatross, and one of her chicks from years past.

Oldest Known Wild Bird Hatches Chick at Age 70

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, was first banded by scientists on a remote North Pacific atoll in 1956

Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black-footed ferret and the first cloned endangered species native to North America, pictured here at 50 days old.

Elizabeth Ann Is the First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret

The creature, the first cloned endangered species native to North America, could provide the fragile population with desperately needed genetic diversity

Page 4 of 18