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Mammals

A harbor porpoise surfaces near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Marine Biologists Solved a Wildlife Mystery From the Walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge: How the Harbor Porpoise Mates

The dolphin-like marine mammals returned to San Francisco Bay in 2008 after a decades-long absence from the area. Scientists took the rare opportunity to closely observe their behavior, and what they uncovered might help at-risk porpoise populations

A koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, with her babies at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, 2011

This Amazing Archive of Animal Photography Reveals 18,000 Species and Counting. Here’s How Joel Sartore Built His ‘Photo Ark’

For 20 years, the National Geographic photographer has showcased Earth’s animals in a series of striking images that make even the tiniest creatures look immense

South America was home to the marsupial sabertooth, illustrated on the left, while North America was home to the smilodon, on the right. The species competed with each other after the Panamanian land bridge connected North and South America.

Ancient North American Mammals May Have Gathered in Mexico and Diversified Before Moving to South America, Priming Them to Thrive There

An analysis of fossils from the country hints that animals from the north stayed in a “holding pen” between seven million and ten million years ago. The timeline might help explain why so many South American mammals have North American ancestry, but not vice versa

The dominant female wolf of Yellowstone's Canyon pack on February 26, 2015

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Yellowstone Is Among the World’s Best Places to See Wild Wolves. Here’s the Story of the Animal Called Both ‘Public Enemy’ and Cultural Icon

A century ago, resident wolves were eliminated from the park. In 1995, biologists brought them back, marking a historic reintroduction of a top carnivore

A 52-foot-long model of a female Otodus megalodon is suspended from the ceiling at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Predatory Sharks Grew to Enormous Sizes in Prehistoric Times. These Five Strategies Helped Them Get So Big

By cannibalizing their siblings in the womb or avoiding meat-eating pliosaurs, fearsome carnivores like the megalodon ballooned to proportions that would dwarf any shark alive today

A mother floating belly-up next to her calf

Why Are These Whales Floating Upside-Down? They Might Just Be Moms Who Need a Break From Feeding Their Babies

Each year, southern right whales migrate thousands of miles from their feeding grounds to breed, give birth and raise their young. Taking rests and regulating their calves’ nursing schedules might help mothers conserve energy while they’re far from food

A new study documents two incidents of orcas breaking sunfish into pieces.

Video Captures Orcas Ramming a Sunfish So Hard It Explodes. The Mysterious Behavior Might Be a Form of Play or Juvenile Care

In two incidents documented in Mexico’s Gulf of California, orcas worked together to blast sunfish into smithereens after they had killed the enormous animals

Kiana Hall, a 33-year-old marketing specialist, captured a viral clip of Jimothy while out for a walk in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Trending Today

An Unusual-Looking Raccoon Nicknamed Jimothy Is Winning Hearts Across the Internet for His Short, Round Body

Jimothy has become a local celebrity in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and likely has a rare congenital spine condition

Gripping onto the edge of an iceberg in East Greenland, a polar bear looks out across the sea ice and sniffs the air. “The scene reflects a landscape that never stays still, where ice fractures, drifts and reforms around it,” photographer Rhiannon Lawler of the United Kingdom writes in a caption. Lawler captured the photo with a drone, keeping a safe distance from the animal.

These 16 Splendid Aerial Views Capture Wildlife From Above, Revealing the Beauty and Mystery of Nature

The second International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest selected its winners and 101 top images. Here’s a selection of the photos that spotlight animals from a new perspective

Researchers showed each giraffe the contents of several containers, which held varying numbers of carrots, then added extra pieces to one of them. Afterward, the animal would choose a container to get the treats inside.

Giraffes Might Be Even Smarter Than We Thought. Some Can Solve Simple Math Problems, a New Study Suggests

Two of four tested giraffes seemed to be able to mentally combine numbers to get one of their favorite treats: carrots. But all the animals failed at tasks involving subtraction or multiple calculations

Two dolphins swim up to the camera. The recognized images from this year's Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest all feature animals.

These 11 Wildlife Images From the Ocean Conservancy’s Photography Contest Showcase the Wonder of Earth’s Waters

Seals, penguins and fish are featured in the nonprofit’s annual competition to inspire care for the world’s oceans

Dinosaurs and other animals might have eaten the fruits of angiosperms during the Late Cretaceous.

Early Flowering Plants May Have Relied on Dinosaurs to Eat Their Fleshy Fruits and Spread Their Seeds

According to fossils preserved by volcanic ash, the plants, known as angiosperms, began producing relatively large, blueberry-size fruits millions of years earlier than previously thought

A North Atlantic right whale swims with dolphins around its head in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary east of Boston.

Speed Limits for Ships Protect Endangered Right Whales From Vessel Strikes. Could the Animals Survive Without Them?

Since 2008, rules requiring ships to slow down to avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales have reduced fatalities of the critically endangered animals. Now, NOAA is calling the regulations into question, raising concerns for the mammals’ future

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live in the tropical waters of the Indian and western Pacific oceans.

Female Dolphins Seem to Remember Which Males Were Aggressive During Mating Season—and May Try to Avoid Them

When researchers played underwater recordings of pushy males, females that were capable of becoming pregnant swam away from the sounds

Two fossils of juvenile embolomeres—crocodile-like creatures, illustrated here—suggest that they did not undergo metamorphosis to become adults and that the ancestors of today’s birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians might not have had a tadpole life phase.

A Vietnam Veteran Collected Fossils for 66 Years. One, Mislabeled ‘Baby Lamprey,’ Made Paleontologists Reconsider How Vertebrates Moved From Water to Land

The fossil turned out to be a hatchling of a crocodile-like creature, and it suggests, according to a new study, that early animals did not use metamorphosis to evolve to dwell on land

A young male bongo photographed in Maasai Mau, Kenya

Trail Camera Photos Capture Rare Antelopes in a Kenya Forest Where Conservationists Once Feared They Had Vanished

Fewer than 100 mountain bongos are thought to live in the wild, and the new discovery reveals a crucial habitat for the critically endangered creatures

A swan swims on the Scharmützelsee at sunrise on July 2, 2025, when temperatures in the nearby German cities of Berlin and Brandenberg were expected to hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

‘Stupid Hot’: Heat Waves Muddle the Minds of Animals and Humans as Confusion and Aggression Seem to Rise With the Temperature

Wide-ranging research suggests that as temperatures increase, some creatures pick fights while others struggle to learn. The findings hint at consequences that may ripple through ecosystems

Two giraffes cross in elegant symmetry beneath a radiant sunset.

You’re Guaranteed to Spot at Least One Gorgeous Giraffe in Each of These 15 Stunning and Awe-Inspiring Images

With their singular coats, naturally craning collars and elegant gait, these skyscraping mammals can’t help but attract sightseers to their neck of the woods

An illustration of an Alston’s singing mouse from the 1882 publication Biologia Centrali-Americana: Mammalia

These Singing Mice Squeak Back and Forth—and Don’t Interrupt. Scientists Found the Brain Pathway Behind Their Impressive Songs

Alston’s singing mice carry out complex vocalizations and even appear to converse politely with one another. The neural circuitry that makes this possible is simpler than researchers expected

Two Alpine ibexes butt heads, slamming their horns together in a powerful battle that can be heard from far away. They wandered up the slope together afterward.

See 15 Stunning Images That Won the German Society for Nature Photography’s Annual Contest

From a lunging frog to the majestic movements of penguins, the honored photographs capture the wonder of wildlife and beauty of natural landscapes

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