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Conservation

Ornithologist John Gould's illustrations of finches collected by Charles Darwin on the Galápagos Islands show the physical differences that the men relied on in dividing them into different species.

Future of Conservation

What Does It Mean to Be a Species? Genetics Is Changing the Answer

As DNA techniques let us see animals in finer and finer gradients, the old definition is falling apart

A little protection over here, please?

Future of Conservation

How America Can Help Save a Non-American Species: The Mighty Giraffe

Giraffes aren’t native to the U.S. But listing them as an endangered species could offer them much-needed protection

Behold T. Rex the ant

New Research

T. Rex Ants Found Alive for the First Time

It is not nearly as formidable as its namesake

Today the desert tortoise faces a variety of new human-associated threats: off-road vehicle use, the illegal pet trade, and now, an influx of deadly ravens.

Future of Conservation

To Save Desert Tortoises, Make Conservation a Real-Life Video Game

Traditional techniques weren’t working for the raven-ravaged reptile. So researchers got creative

Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada

Trending Today

What Is Bears Ears National Monument?

The Department of Interior will make a recommendation about the land’s fate in early June

Roosevelt became known for meeting with conservation figures like John Muir, something that detractors thought was "unpresidential."

With This One Quotable Speech, Teddy Roosevelt Changed the Way America Thinks About Nature

In a speech at the start of the 1908 Conference of Governors, Roosevelt changed the national conversation about resource use

A raccoon butterflyfish on a coral reef in Egypt's Red Sea. The vast majority of aquarium fish come from countries with known cyanide fishing problems.

Future of Conservation

Soon, You Could Be Able to Tell if Your Aquarium Fish Was Caught With Cyanide

A new handheld detector aims to root out this widespread, destructive practice

Any faithful recreation of elephant ivory must be hard, strong and tough—three qualities that are difficult to engineer in any one material.

Future of Conservation

Appalled by the Illegal Trade in Elephant Ivory, a Biologist Decided to Make His Own

Faking the stuff of elephant tusks could benefit wildlife conservation and engineering—yet many technical hurdles remain

Tarsius spectrumgurskyae

New Research

Two New Species of Googly-Eyed Tarsiers Discovered in Indonesia

The tiny tree dwellers are the 80th and 81st primates discovered since 2000

This majestic Yellowstone elk would like you to shut up.

New Research

Humans Are Making Too Much Noise—Even in Protected Areas

Turns out that protecting natural areas doesn’t give animals much peace and quiet

A Eurasian wolf pictured at the Polar Zoo in Bardu, Norway.

Cool Finds

After 200 Years, a Wolf Pack Returns to Denmark

A female wolf has been spotted among a group of males in Jutland

The stolen horn in Torrey Hall

Trending Today

Rhino Horn Stolen From the University of Vermont

A thief broke in and snatched the horn, which could be worth half a million dollars on the black market

Fruit bats are thought to be the natural host for the Ebola virus. Groups like USAID PREDICT regularly monitor such diseases in wildlife to prevent the jump from animal to humans.

The Next Pandemic

Can Saving Animals Prevent the Next Deadly Pandemic?

A global disease monitoring network is banking on the idea that healthier wildlife means healthier humans

U.K. Killer Whale Contained Staggering Levels of Toxic Chemical

Lulu had one of the highest concentrations of PCBs ever recorded in a marine mammal

The newly born red wolf pups

Trending Today

Endangered Red Wolf Pups Born in Durham

The six puppies are the first born at Museum of Life and Science in 15 years, part of a program to save the wolves which only number about 300

Roughly 70 pink pigeons exist in captivity around the world, including this one at the San Diego Zoo.

Future of Conservation

Threatened Species? Science to the (Genetic) Rescue!

This still-controversial conservation technique will never be a species’ panacea. But it might provide a crucial stop-gap

In a post-9/11 world, border walls between countries have become more common. But the science is severely lacking in our understanding of how they impact species and fragment ecosystems. Here, a continuous wire fence marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico near Tijuana.

Future of Conservation

How a Border Wall Could Wreak Ecological Havoc

Also in this episode of Generation Anthropocene: The case of U.S. Navy ships, beached whales and deadly sonar pings

Every cupful of pond water is swirling with DNA sequences. Now, scientists are putting them to work to solve stubborn conservation mysteries.

Future of Conservation

How Scientists Use Teeny Bits of Leftover DNA to Solve Wildlife Mysteries

Environmental DNA helps biologists track rare, elusive species. It could usher in a revolution for conservation biology

A whooping crane in flight in Texas.

The Hopeful Mid-Century Conservation Story of the (Still Endangered) Whooping Crane

There were just 15 whooping cranes left in 1952. Today there are around 600

A sea otter floats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

Future of Conservation

The Remarkable Return of Sea Otters to Glacier Bay

Rarely do apex predators recover from human oppression. These otters are an exception

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