A European bison, also referred to as a wisent

A Wild Bison Was Spotted in Germany for the First Time in Two Centuries. Then It Was Shot

As conservationists work to restore the once mighty European bison, they must face misunderstandings from concerned citizens

An endangered Leadbeaters Possum peers from a research restraint bag.

New Research

The World’s Biggest and Smallest Animals Face Greatest Risk of Extinction

Harvesting and habitat degradation are largely to blame

Taken in 1938, this image captures one of the once abundant Javan tigers. Hunting drove the big cats to extinction.

Long Thought Extinct, Javan Tiger May Have Been Spotted in Indonesia

Last sighted in 1976, many are hopeful that the Javan tiger still lives

Monarch butterflies nesting in California in the winters have declined rapidly since 1981

West Coast Monarch Butterflies Flutter Toward Extinction

Since 1981, the butterfly’s numbers have declined 97 percent according to a new survey

Trending Today

Geek Out to This Asteroid Day Livestream

For 24 hours a YouTube channel will host discussions on space rocks and their potential impacts on Earth

A large number of ancient marine species, including the massive megalodon shark, disappeared in a marine extinction event roughly 2 million years ago.

New Research

Researchers Find Ancient Extinction Event Among Large Marine Creatures

More than a third of large ocean-dwelling species disappeared roughly 2 million years ago

The endangered blobfish, once named world's ugliest animal, has leveraged its unusual looks to win the Internet's adoration. Can other less-traditionally appealing creatures do the same?

Future of Conservation

When It Comes to Conservation, Are Ugly Animals a Lost Cause?

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but good marketing can do wonders

In 2001, Smithsonian scientists Doug Owsley and Kari Bruwelheide traveled to the Grove in Glenview, Illinois, Robert Kennicott's boyhood home, to open the naturalist's casket and determine the cause of his death.

Smithsonian’s Behind-the-Scenes ‘Sidedoor’ Podcast Returns for Second Season

New episodes explore a 150-year-old cold case, the history of beer, war photography and more

New Research

New Zealand’s Yellow-Eyed Penguins May Be in Trouble

A new study estimates that the beloved birds could disappear locally within 25 years

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

Aurochs illustration from Sigismund von Herberstein's book published in 1556

When the Nazis Tried to Bring Animals Back From Extinction

Their ideology of genetic purity extended to aspirations about reviving a pristine landscape with ancient animals and forests

Outside of the U.S., international whale capture is alive and well.

What Will It Take to End International Killer Whale Capture?

The West may have rejected whale captivity, but the painful relationship between humans and orcas is far from over

Woolly mammoth restoration at the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia.

Genes of the Last Woolly Mammoths Were Riddled with Bad Mutations, Study Finds

Before they died out, they lost their sense of smell and suffered from heartburn

This diminutive mammal could soon go extinct.

Trending Today

Only 30 of the World’s Most Adorable Porpoise Are Left on Earth

As “the panda of the sea” hurtles toward extinction, scientists stage a last-ditch effort to save the species

An illustration of Australia's past megafauna.

New Research

Changing Climate, Not Humans, Killed Australia’s Massive Mammals

But that mass extinction could help us predict what today’s human-wrought climate change may bring

Two thylacines at the Smithsonian National Zoo around 1905. A thylacine brain from the Smithsonian Institution was scanned as part of a study to learn more about the extinct marsupial, but it is unclear whether that brain belonged to one of the animals pictured.

New Research

How Scientists Reconstructed the Brain of a Long-Extinct Beast

This dog-like marsupial went extinct 80 years ago, but its preserved brains help us glean how its mind worked

Scimitar-horned oryx being released into their holding pen in Chad last March

Trending Today

Second Group of the Once-Extinct African Oryx to Be Released Into the Wild

Hunting wiped out wild populations of the scimitar-horned creatures, but breeding programs are helping them make a comeback

Illustration of the hyolith Haplophrentis

New Research

Tiny Cone-Shaped Creature Gets a Twig on the Tree of Life

Hyoliths have confused scientists for 175 years, but researchers have finally worked out a few of their close relatives

Trending Today

Giraffes Silently Slip Onto the Endangered Species List

Years of habitat destruction and poaching have reduced giraffe numbers by 30 percent, placing them in the vulnerable category for the first time

What Really Killed Off the Woolly Mammoth?

What caused woolly mammoths to die-off so quickly? New evidence suggests an unfavorable climate may have drove them to extinction

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