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Conservation

Hippos may appear inactive, but a recent study shows that they’re listening closely to their surroundings.

A Hippo’s Response to an Unknown Caller? A Blast of Poop and a Rowdy Holler

The lumbering animals respond calmly to their grunting and groaning friends, but a stranger’s voice often prompted a loud, filthy territorial response

The launch of new satellites later this year could make the job of identifying stranded whales from space even more effective.

Satellites Can Spot Beached Whales From Space

Very high resolution satellites give scientists a new way to find out when and where a large-bodied whale, such as a humpback or a sperm, is stranded

The remarkable Hudsonian godwit.

This Wonder Bird Flies Thousands of Miles, Non-Stop, as Part of an Epic Migration

The more scientists learn about the Hudsonian godwit, the more they’re amazed—and worried

Harvard University professor E.O. Wilson in his office in Cambridge, MA. He is considered to be the world's leading authority on the study of ants.

Remembering E.O. Wilson’s Wish for a More Sustainable Existence

From a lifelong passion for ants, E.O. Wilson guided humanity to think of conservation

Approximately 315 different glaciers between British Columbia and Alaska have the potential to create new salmon habitat.

Melting Glaciers May Create 3,800 Miles of New Salmon Habitat by 2100

As the ice retreats, water could carve new streams in the thawed out land

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Robotic Fish Are This Invasive Species’ ‘Worst Nightmare’

The tiny swimmers wreak havoc across the globe, but the robofish shocked them enough to impair their survival and reproduction

An aerial view of the ongoing efforts to reconstruct Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral, pictured in June 2021

France Approves Controversial Plan to Renovate Notre-Dame Cathedral

Conservative critics have opposed the new proposal, which aims to make the Paris landmark an “even more beautiful and welcoming” place for visitors

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642

A Hidden Sketch Is Discovered in Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’

Researchers in the Netherlands used new scanning technologies to discover how the Baroque artist painted his most famous masterpiece

Human-caused pollution is killing the seagrass that manatees feed on.

Florida Wildlife Officials Move to Feed Starving Manatees in Experimental Conservation Approach

The unprecedented feeding plan comes as more than 1,000 manatees—about 15 percent of the state’s total population—have died this year

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The Best Books of 2021

The Ten Best Science Books of 2021

From captivating memoirs by researchers to illuminating narratives by veteran science journalists, these works affected us the most this year

Until recently, scientists knew relatively little about the lives of birds on the open North Atlantic. But a group of researchers has identified a habitat in the ocean teeming with great shearwaters and other seabirds.

Regulators Look to Protect a Seabird Hotspot in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Scientists have identified a key seabird feeding ground in need of safeguarding

Jan Piecha earned a spot as a finalist with their picture of three young raccoons, titled "Secrets." 

Ten Hilarious Winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

The annual contest is a joyful celebration of the natural world

A growing body of work shows that marine animals are attracted to the sounds of healthy environments.

Playing Recordings of a Healthy Ocean Can Help Restore Marine Ecosystems

Scientists are using a ‘fake it til you make it’ approach to attract animals to coral reefs and other degraded habitats

Jeffrey Peter, of Old Crow, Yukon, cleans a caribou hide during an autumn hunt. When camping, the hide is used as a mattress; at home, it’s clothing.

For the Gwich’in People, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Isn’t a Political Issue, It’s Home

Journey to the far north of Alaska, where the Indigenous communities hunt caribou, the backbone of the region’s ecosystem

A Magdalena River turtle hatchling

Inside the Local Movement to Recover Colombia’s River Turtles

In river basins across the country, communities are working to protect the endangered and endemic reptiles

Species like seals, sharks, seahorses and eels have found their way back to the river in recent decades.

Once Deemed ‘Biologically Dead,’ a New Report Shows London’s River Thames Recovering

Though wildlife populations are recovering, climate change and sewage still threaten the river’s health

Bound for Chicago with a hold full of Christmas trees, the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands in a November gale in 1912.

The Newest National Marine Sanctuary Is in Lake Michigan. Here’s How to Explore It

Covering 962 square miles, the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary includes 36 known shipwrecks

New Zealand's long-tailed bats are about the size of a human thumb and weigh less than a tablespoon of sugar.

New Zealand’s Bird of the Year Is… a Bat

The winged mammal is critically endangered and won the award to raise awareness about their existence and importance to the island ecosystem

The prairie is 10,000 years old and was carved by the retreat of the last glaciers and is considered a gravel prairie. Only about 25 acres of high-quality gravel prairie are left in the state. Bell Bowl makes up five acres of what is left.

10,000-Year-Old Rare Prairie Land and Rusty Patched Bumblebee Threatened by Airport Construction in Illinois

Sightings of an endangered bee species have temporarily stopped construction, which is set to resume November 1

For the first time in 16 years, a pair of golden-headed lion tamarins were born on the morning of October 7, 2021. New mom Lola carries the new infants on her back and cradles them close to her body. 

Zoo’s Historic Newborn Tamarin Twins Cling to Mom, Doing What Healthy Babies Do

Keepers worked with breeding parents Lola and Coco, who soon “become very interested in each other”

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