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Endangered Species

Asian elephants have less than a 33 percent chance of lasting beyond the 21st century

Earth Lost 2.5 Billion Years’ Worth of Evolutionary History in Just 130,000 Years

Even if humans curbed destructive actions within next 50 years, it would take between five to seven million years for mammal biodiversity to fully recover

Polar bears are shown scavenging on the carcass of a dead bowhead whale that washed ashore on Wrangel Island, Russia.

Weird Animals

Polar Bears May Soon Feast on Whale Carcasses. Global Warming is to Blame.

This scavenging strategy saved sleuths of bears in the past, but it’s not sustainable as temperatures climb at unprecedented rates

Mugging for the camera

Cool Finds

World’s Largest Forest Antelope Photographed in Uganda for First Time

The lowland bongo and other mammal species were recorded during the first camera trap survey of Semuliki National Park

New Research

How Much Plastic Does It Take To Kill a Sea Turtle?

A new study suggests one piece of plastic has a 22 percent chance of killing a turtle that eats it, and 14 pieces will kill half

A monarch on tropical milkweed.

New Research

How This Popular Garden Plant May Spread Parasites That Harm Monarchs

Non-native tropical milkweed encourage year-round monarch populations which harbor a deadly parasite for the imperiled insect

Spix's macaw.

New Research

In the Last Decade, Four Birds Went Extinct and Four More Are Likely Gone

Habitat loss is the main culprit in killing off the birds, including Spix’s macaw, the star of the popular 2011 film Rio

Giraffe pillows and hide for sale in Florida.

Trending Today

Americans Have a Surprisingly Large Appetite for Giraffe Parts

An investigation shows 40,000 giraffe products representing 4,000 of the endangered animals have been legally imported over the last decade

Elusive “Unicorn” Plant Spotted in Maine for the First Time in 131 Years

The state’s Department of Agriculture has documented around 300 flowering unicorn root stems

113 Sea Turtles Have Been Found Dead on a Mexico Beach

Officials are still investigating the cause of the die-off

Dinosaurs had some bad luck, but sooner or later extinction comes for all of us.

What Makes Some Species More Likely to Go Extinct?

With help from the fossil record, paleontologists are piecing together what might make one creature more vulnerable than another

Trending Today

This Fish Outlived Dinosaurs But Oil and Gas Drilling May Threaten Its Survival

Oil exploration is set to begin near the habitat of the critically endangered coelacanth, a type of fish that has survived over 400 million years

Coral and its symbiotic algae

New Research

Algae and Coral Have Been BFFs Since the Dinosaur Age

A new study shows that the relationship between coral polyps and zooxanthellae that produces colorful coral reefs began 160 million years ago

New Research

Birds Can Learn “Foreign” Languages to Stay Safe

The superb fairywren was able to learn a new alarm call just by listening to the warnings of other species

The Morne du Tamaris Colony in happier days in 1982.

New Research

World’s Largest King Penguin Colony Suffers an 85 Percent Crash

The Morne du Tamaris Colony on Île aux Cochons has dropped from 2 million to 200,000 birds over 30 years

Can Scientists Save an Endangered Marsupial by Breeding Out Its Taste for Poisonous Toads?

Some northern quolls do not eat deadly cane toads. New research suggests their aversion is an inherited trait

A fisher from a small-scale fishery in Honduras hooks a yellowtail snapper—a species of fish that may vary its shape depending on where it's sourced.

To Pinpoint the Origin of a Fish, Check Out Its Physique

A new cost-effective tool may help small-scale fisheries simply and accurately determine the origins of a day’s catch.

The Unexpected Afterlife of Ill-Gotten Wildlife Goods

Contraband pelts and scales can serve as educational tools, add to research collections and even offer clues back to smugglers

New Research

Coral Reefs Need Fewer Rats and More Bird Poo

A study of rat-infested islands in the Chagos show that a lack of seabirds—and their guano—degrades surrounding coral ecosystems

A black eastern quoll with white spots decked out with its GPS collar.

Endangered Eastern Quolls Are Born on Mainland Australia for the First Time in 50 Years

Three of the feisty marsupials, which had been reintroduced to the wild, were found with joeys in their pouches

Trending Today

Australian Reptiles And a Toad Named After Gollum on Latest Endangered Species Update

The IUCN Red List shows Oz’s reptiles are in trouble as well as flying foxes, a Jamaican rodent and a New Guinea butterfly

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