Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Endangered Species

Changila, a male elephant who was later killed by poachers near Samburu National Reserve in Kenya.

New Research

Surprise! Science Shows That Elephant Poaching Is Unsustainable

For the first time, scientists have made a comprehensive tally of illegal killing rates across Africa

Shama, a red panda at the National Zoo, died August 16.

Shama, the Red Panda, Has Died

Shama, a red panda at the National Zoo, died on Saturday

A mountain lion kitten in Malibu Creek State Park.

The Real Cougars of Malibu Have Lives Full of Murder, Bad Sex and Poison

But a simple bridge over the freeway could help save the charismatic big cats

Cool Finds

Why Everyone From Conservationists to Yao Ming to Andrew Cuomo Supports Banning Ivory Sales

Because of corruption and laundering, any system of legal ivory trade threatens the continued existence of elephants

A critically endangered European eel.

New Research

Eels Are Victims of Noise Pollution

Critically endangered European eels get distracted by man-made noise, making them more likely to get eaten by a predator

Tropical regions are home to many unique species, such as this tiny frog belonging to the genus Dendrophryniscus that lives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. A new study finds that removing just a few trees can quickly cause biodiversity in these tropical forests to fall.

New Research

Removing Just a Few Trees Can Lower Tropical Animal Biodiversity

Selective logging can halve the number of species of mammals and amphibians in a forest

No wonder unagi is so popular - this picture looks good enough to eat!

How Will Japan Celebrate Summer Without Unagi

The freshwater eel is now endangered, but who is to blame and what are the best substitutes?

A tiger skin openly for sale at Mong La.

Cool Finds

This Market Along the Burma-China Border Is a Veritable Noah’s Ark of Critically Endangered Animals

Photographer Alex Hofford exposed the extent of the wildlife trade openly taking place at this infamous market

New Research

Borneo Has Lost 30 Percent of Its Forest in the Past 40 Years

Borneo’s tropical forests have fallen at twice the rate as the rest of the world’s felled rainforests

Elusive Indus River dolphins.

New Research

Why Freshwater Dolphins Are Some of the World’s Most Endangered Mammals

In Pakistan, dams and drainage has reduced the endangered Indus River dolphin’s range by 80 percent

Tiger skins confiscated in Yunnan, China.

Cool Finds

China Finally Came Clean About Its Shady Tiger Skin Trade

Whether or not this will improve the situation for tigers, however, remains to be seen

Imperiled survivors: A herd migrates across Chad, once home to tens of thousands of elephants. After a surge in poaching, only about 1,000 remain.

The Race to Stop Africa’s Elephant Poachers

The recent capture of a notorious poacher has given hope to officials in Chad battling to save the African elephant from extinction

University of Sao Paulo researcher Marcio Martins holds one snake while watching another, a deadly venomous snake living only on Queimada Grande Island, Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

This Terrifying Brazilian Island Has the Highest Concentration of Venomous Snakes Anywhere in the World

Brazil’s Ilha de Queimada Grande is the only home of one of the world’s deadliest, and most endangered, snakes

Cool Finds

In Maya Lin’s New Exhibition, a Singing Ring Contains the Sounds of Endangered Worlds

The Sound Ring represents places as diverse as California forests and the Indian Ocean

Cool Finds

Europe Has Its Own Bison Species That Came Back From the Brink of Extinction

Bison were just reintroduced into a stretch of Romania where they haven’t been found for two centuries

New Research

A 20,000-Plus Room Resort Threatens This UNESCO Site in Mexico

For twenty years, conservation efforts have protected the beach and its coral reef; a new development could harm them both

A drawing of the West Indian or Caribbean monk seal based on a specimen collected in Matanzas, Cuba.

New Research

For the First Time in More Than 100 Years, Scientists Discover New Seal Genus

The now extinct Caribbean monk seal shares an evolutionary connection with the endangered Hawaiian monk seal—one more reason to save the species

Cool Finds

France Is Spending 3 Million Euros to Save the Great Hamster of Alsace

There are only a few hundred left!

None

Decades of Political Strife Have Left Myanmar’s Jungles Unexplored and Unchartered

Now as the country opens up, what will happen to its endangered species? A new three-part series on the Smithsonian Channel explores the issue

A bowl of shark fin soup, which is sometimes made with meat from protected species of sharks

Cool Finds

People Caught Eating Rare Animals in China Might Soon Face Jail Time

Eating endangered species was never kosher, but now legitimate punishments can finally be dished out for this crime

Page 29 of 33