Articles tagged as Extinction | Smithsonian Magazine

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

March 31, 2017

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

March 24, 2017

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

March 3, 2017

This diminutive mammal could soon go extinct.

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

February 8, 2017

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

January 26, 2017

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

January 19, 2017

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

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

January 18, 2017

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

January 12, 2017

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

December 9, 2016

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

December 2, 2016

Before the recent reintroductions of P-horses, the last confirmed sighting in the wild was in 1969.

The Remarkable Comeback of Przewalski’s Horse

Once nearly extinct, the population of these wild horses has rebounded on the dusty steppes of Mongolia

December 2016

Many scientists believe we are standing on the edge of an unprecedented era of extinction.

Age of Humans

Why Should Humans Care if We’re Entering the Sixth Mass Extinction?

In this episode of Generation Anthropocene, learn what a new era of extinction means for diverse species—including our own

November 21, 2016

The three-spine stickleback usually forages and builds its nest near the lake bottom. But in Enos Lake, it appears to have merged with a related species that spends its time near the surface.

Extinction or Evolution? The Answer Isn’t Always Clear

The same factors that kill off some species cause others to evolve at lightning speed

November 7, 2016

A black and white ruffed lemur in Madagascar's Vakona Forest Reserve. Worldwide, primates are particularly prone to overhunting, according to the first global assessment of bush meat hunting trends.

A New Report Says We’re Hunting the World’s Mammals to Death. What Can Be Done?

Solutions are multifaceted and region-specific, but conservation researchers have some ideas

November 2, 2016

The southern African nation now supports protection for the animals instead of limited sales of ivory

October 4, 2016

Since his discovery in 2005, Toughie the frog has been the face of amphibian extinction

October 4, 2016

New Research

Campsite Places Humans in Argentina 14,000 Years Ago

Excavations at the site Arroyo Seco 2 include stone tools and evidence that humans were hunting giant sloths, giant armadillos and extinct horse species

October 3, 2016

In an artist's interpretation, the forested and warm Late Cretaceous is abruptly destroyed by a six-mile wide asteroid.

Life Bounced Back After the Dinosaurs Perished

The devastation was immediate, catastrophic and widespread, but plants and mammals were quick to take over

September 16, 2016

Benjamin photographed at Beaumaris Zoo in 1933.

Remembering the Tasmanian Tiger, 80 Years After It Became Extinct

Today, the animal’s memory is alive and well in Australia

September 7, 2016

Cool Finds

Rare Dodo Composite Skeleton Goes On Sale

A British auction house is selling one of only a dozen known dodo skeletons, put together by a collector from the bones of several birds

August 29, 2016