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Extinction

Future of Conservation

Inside the Colorado Vault That Keeps Your Favorite Foods From Going Extinct

From heirloom potatoes to honeybee sperm, this collection works to preserve our invaluable agricultural diversity

Scientists Make Match.com Profile for Bolivia’s Loneliest Frog

‘Romeo’ the Sehuencas water frog may be the last surviving member of his species

Newborn saiga calf nestling in the arms of a scientist of the joint health monitoring team.

Over 200,000 Endangered Antelope Suddenly Die Thanks to … Weird Weather?

A change in humidity seems to have triggered bacteria that led to widespread death of the creatures

A bat undergoing a UV light treatment

New Research

UV Light Could Help Stop the Bat-Killing White Nose Syndrome

Research shows the fungus is susceptible to UV light. The problem is getting bats into the tanning beds

New Research

This Giant Penguin Was the Size of a Human

The ancient mega-penguins waddled around New Zealand some 60 million years ago

University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher holds up an intact mammoth rib unearthed from the field.

Cool Finds

Mammoth Remains Unearthed at Michigan Farm, Hint at Ancient Human Butchering

Researchers have found 40 additional bones, including the skull, tusks and teeth of an ice age creature

Cool Finds

Skeleton of a Massive Extinct Sea Cow Found on Siberian Island

Remains of the Steller’s sea cow shed light on one of the first animals that taught humans about extinction

Researchers estimate that the cub was between one-and-a-half to two months old when it perished up to 50,000 years ago

Cool Finds

Russian Local Discovers Frozen Remains of Extinct Cave Lion Cub

The lion died up to 50,000 years ago, but was found perfectly preserved in the frosty ground

An artist's rendering of an asteroid striking Earth.

New Research

Dinosaurs Might Be Alive Today If the Asteroid Had Hit Another Location

Only a fraction of the Earth’s surface contained the right amount of hydrocarbons to trigger the mass extinction, a new study says

A woolly rhinoceros painted by a prehistoric artist on the wall of Chauvet cave in France

New Research

Why Some Woolly Rhinos Grew Ribs on Their Necks

These misplaced ribs don’t grow unless something unusual is going on in the gene pool

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

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