Conservation

Why a Denmark Zoo Publicly Dissected a Lion

The zookeepers say it is an educational opportunity

Eco-tourists snorkeling with fish in a Brazilian river

Does Ecotourism Hurt or Help?

When critters get used to tourists, they may be less aware of both predators and poachers

The black-footed ferret's tale of near-extinction is just one of many stories of endangered animals.

How We Decide Which Animals Become Endangered

It wasn't too long ago that the idea of "endangered animals" didn't even exist.

By the time the Salt River reaches downtown Phoenix, it is a river in name only. Some scientists think that is why a non-native plant, the salt cedar, is thriving while native flora are suffering.

How We Created a Monster In the American Southwest

The salt cedar is often seen as an un-killable invader. But are humans the real reason this unwanted plant is thriving?

Soldiers pose with bison heads captured from poacher Ed Howell. In the early days of Yellowstone, poaching, setting the park on fire and defacing its hot springs were rampant.

How the U.S. Army Saved Our National Parks

Before the National Park Service, Yellowstone was guarded by the cavalry. Without them, we might not have national parks today

Baby tree saplings, cloned from giant redwoods in California, chill out in the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive's propagation area.

The Race to Save the World's Great Trees By Cloning Them

A nonprofit dedicated to preserving old, iconic trees is cloning them in hopes of preserving them for the future

The flat-tail horned lizard's desert habitats in the American West are changing rapidly, thanks to us humans.

Even Desert Lizards Are Feeling the Heat Due to Climate Change

But Smithsonian scientists are probing the flat-tail horned lizard's DNA to save the rare species

Setting up sound monitors in Papua New Guinea.

Scientists Are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests

The bioacoustic data gives Nature Conservancy researchers clues about the health of an ecosystem

Salgado has documented many indigenous tribes and their traditions. Here, men are decorated with feathers and paint for a reahu funerary ceremony.

Sebastião Salgado Has Seen the Forest, Now He's Seeing the Trees

He documented human suffering around the world. But now, back in his native Brazil, the renowned photographer is healing the devastated landscape

Twins Ida and Irene practice swimming in a learn-to-swim program on Eydhafushi, an island in the Maldives.

Third-Graders in the Maldives Discover the Beauty Beneath Their Seas

Many tourists have experienced the Maldives’ beauty. Most Maldivians haven’t, because they don’t know how to swim

A leech found in Vietnam

These Scientists Survey Rainforest Diversity Using Leeches and the Blood They Suck

DNA from their host animals can persist in adult leeches for at least four months

A Californian Highway May Get A Cougar-Only Overpass

A proposed bridge could soon bring wildlife populations together.

The Star Trek starship Enterprise model on display in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building in 1975.

Trekkies Needed for USS Enterprise Restoration Project

The National Air and Space Museum asks "Star Trek" fans for pre-1976 images or film of the original studio model of the USS Enterprise

The Rama travel their coastal homeland with wooden dories and small motorboats, which would be eclipsed by megaships traversing the Nicaragua Canal.

How an Indigenous Group Is Battling Construction of the Nicaragua Canal

The Rama community's efforts offer a glimmer of hope for opponents of the canal project planned by a Chinese billionaire

Doomsday mushrooms?

Death By Fungus, and Other Fun Facts About Fungal Friends and Foes

This Generation Anthropocene episode highlights oft overlooked organisms that may help us better understand human impacts

A bat box stands over the Herdade do Esporão vineyard in Portugal.

Winemakers Are Building Houses for Bats to Make Vineyards Greener

Attracting the right species can help get rid of vine-munching insects and allow farmers to cut back on pesticides

The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South

A naturalist cuts through the myths surrounding the invasive plant

The white Kermode bear, a rare ursa sacred to local tribes, is now the center of a fierce battle to protect British Columbia’s rainforest.

This Rare, White Bear May Be the Key to Saving a Canadian Rainforest

The white Kermode bear of British Columbia is galvanizing First Nations people fighting to protect their homeland

Humans take 14 times more adult biomass from the oceans than other marine predators.

Modern Humans Have Become Superpredators

Most other predators target juveniles, but our species tends to kill more full-grown adults

Sri Lakan Slender Loris

Why Primatologists Love Collecting Poop

There's intel inside monkey feces — in the form of DNA

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