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Conservation

Many different types of animals, from birds to orcas, are affected by human noise.

Five Dramatic Ways Animals Respond to Human Noise, From Mimicking Car Alarms While Wooing Mates to Calling Higher Over the Din of Traffic

As human-caused sound gets louder around the world, some animals change their behavior and many creatures suffer health issues

An aardvark emerges from its burrow.

Could Aardvark Burrows Be Ground Zero for the Next Pandemic?

Animals of all kinds mix and mingle in the underground refuges, offering troubling opportunities for diseases to jump species

Bison graze near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana.

Restoring Bison to Yellowstone Has ‘Reawakened’ the Ecosystem as the Large Animals Migrate, Study Suggests

An analysis of plant diversity and soil health across the bison migration corridor suggests free-roaming bison lead to more nutrient-rich plants

Researchers have developed a new, artificial supplement that can deliver crucial nutrients known as sterols to honeybee colonies and promote survival of larvae.

Researchers Develop a ‘Superfood’ for Honeybees to Fight the Drastic Decline of Their Colonies

Bees fed an enriched yeast supplement saw 15 times more of their larvae reach the developmental stage right before adulthood, according to a new study

The only human development on Tetepare is a small research center and ecolodge on the western corner of the island, which is otherwise covered in lush rainforest and lined by coral reefs and meadows of seagrass.

Why Is Tetepare the South Pacific’s Largest Uninhabited Island?

Descendants of the island’s former inhabitants struggle to balance environmental conservation with sustaining their community’s livelihoods

The American robin was among the birds most affected by light pollution.

Light Pollution Is Making Days Longer for Birds, Extending the Hours When They’ll Sing

A new study looked at millions of recordings of birdsong and found that some species in areas with more light pollution are active for almost an hour longer than average

The newly conserved felt hat is now on view at the Bolton Museum in Bolton, England.

A 2,000-Year-Old Sun Hat Worn by a Roman Soldier in Egypt Goes on View After a Century in Storage

The felt cap—one of only three surviving examples of its kind—was recently conserved by a museum in England

Gouldian finches, endemic to northern Australia, are among the tropical birds that may be vulnerable to extreme heat.

Tropical Birds Are Struggling to Cope With Extreme Heat, Research Suggests

A first-of-its-kind data analysis links high temperatures caused by climate change to tropical bird population declines

Two adult female mountain gorillas rest with one of their infants.

Female Gorillas Form Ties That Bind, Helping Them Join New Social Groups

A new study finds that when female mountain gorillas move to a new crowd, they look for females they’ve already met

Sea star wasting disease, seen here, makes starfish melt into goo or sludge.

Researchers Discover the Culprit Behind a Gruesome Disease That Makes Sea Stars Lose Their Limbs and Melt

A new study points a finger at a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida, which belongs to the same genus as Vibrio cholerae, known for causing cholera in humans

The overpass is expected to be completed in December 2025, with landscaping work to be finished in 2026.

Colorado Is Building the ‘World’s Largest’ Wildlife Overpass, Giving Elk and Other Big Creatures a Safe Path to Cross a Busy Freeway

The completed overpass will be 200 feet wide by 209 feet long, forming a bridge across six lanes of traffic that see more than 100,000 vehicles each day

Ziggy (dog) and Rozi (cheetah) play with a stuffed animal at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo in Australia.

A Lonely Cheetah Cub at an Australian Zoo Now Has an Unlikely ‘Best Friend’—a Puppy

While the companionship might seem surprising, zoos have been pairing sibling-less cheetah cubs with dogs for decades to improve their socialization

Due to conservation efforts, more than 240 kākāpō live on sanctuary islands, but the species remains critically endangered.

New Zealand’s Massive Green Parrots Have Narrowly Avoided Extinction. But Many of Their Parasites Did Not Survive

A study examining fossilized droppings reveals the kākāpō has faced a decline in the diversity of its parasites—and that might not be a good thing

Researchers deposited the larvae into the hull of a shipwreck off the coast of Belgium.

Scientists Deposit 200,000 Rare Oysters in a Shipwreck 100 Feet Below the Surface of the North Sea

European flat oysters have nearly disappeared from the region. Now, researchers are helping them recover by depositing the oyster larvae on gravel beds off the coast of Belgium

The leaf-toed gecko has been rediscovered on Rábida Island in the Galápagos.

Small, Secretive Gecko Rediscovered in the Galápagos After Scientists Eliminate Invasive Rats

Researchers thought leaf-toed geckos were locally extinct on Rábida Island, so they were thrilled to find several of the lizards alive and well during 2019 and 2021 expeditions

A juvenile blacktip reef shark swims in shallow waters by the mangroves in Palau. This image was highly commended in the underwater category.

See 11 Stunning Images of Mangrove Forests and Their Wildlife, Showcasing the Trees’ Beauty and Fragility

The winners of the Mangrove Photography Awards shed light on the ecologically valuable but highly threatened coastal ecosystems

Migrant Child depicts a shipwrecked young child in a life jacket holding up a flare emitting bright pink smoke.

Venice Breaks Ground on Controversial Banksy Mural Restoration

“Migrant Child” is being removed for restoration after years of water and salt damage, despite concerns from artists and community members

Feral cats have made their home on Fire Island.

Why Fire Island Has Seen an Explosion of Feral Cats

In New York’s only federal wilderness area, the loss of a key predator has led to the rise of a new one—with dire consequences for the island’s native birds

Breakthroughs in tagging technology are opening a window into the lives of smelt and other small swimmers—a shift some scientists say could transform our understanding of the underwater world’s more minute creatures.

A New Generation of Tiny Tracking Tags Offers a Fresh Look at the Lives of Little Fish

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a tag the size of a grain of rice that can also work underwater

A large prawn walks over a field of mineral-rich nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).

As Interest in Deep-Sea Mining Grows, Scientists Raise Alarms About the Possible Ecological Consequences

Gathering minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the seabed could affect everything from sponges to whales. The long-term effects of these extractions remain uncertain

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