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Nature

Terrifying. An ancestor of the modern-day croc stood nine feet tall and walked on its hind legs. It's been lovingly christened the "Carolina Butcher."

Before There Were Crocodiles, There Was the “Carolina Butcher”

A newly discovered crocodilian ancestor was a nine-foot-tall predator that stood on its hind legs

Phytoplankton light up the beach on Vaadhoo.

These Spellbinding Light Phenomena Will Make You Believe in Magic

See seven stunning natural light shows from around the world

Screen grab from DIY TV’s "Professional Fort Builder: Jay Nelson"

Cool Finds

This Treehouse Has It All

Salvaged fence boards, given new life, help Jay Nelson create dwellings that blend with nature

One hundred wood bison will be reintroduced to the Alaskan wilderness later this month, somewhere they have not lived in the wild for over a century.

Bringing the Wood Bison Back to Alaska

Once nearly extinct, the subspecies is set to return to the United States

Trending Today

How “Learned Deafness” Might be Letting Noise Pollution Win

The world may be noisier than ever but one scientist warns that our attempts to blot out the sound may cost us dearly

This 1897 calendar is brought to you by parading cats.

After 12/13/14, What Are the Next Fun Dates for Math Lovers?

Sequential integers are a bit boring, anyhow. Here are some more exciting sequences to celebrate over the next 89 years

A hippopotamus named Linda takes her calf Reginald for a swim in a pool at Whipsnade Zoo. England, 1954.

Cool Finds

Let Wildlife Recordings From the 1930s Take You Back to Nature

Hear African wildlife from the 1930s with the British Library’s nature sound archives

2014 Holiday Gift Guide

Best Gifts of 2014 for Nature Lovers

Smithsonian editors, gardeners and scientists offer ideas to give the gifts that keep wildlife thriving

Fred Tomaselli, Migrant Fruit Thugs, 2006.

Art Meets Science

The Threatened Birds in These Artworks Might One Day Go the Way of the Dodo

The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition explores mankind’s relationship to birds and the natural world

New Research

Like Ants, Small Backpackers Are Adept at Carrying Proportionally Heavier Loads

The weight a person or animal can carry does not increase uniformly with size

Google's newest Street View collection takes users to Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall pioneered her chimpanzee behavioral research. "Don't forget to look up," a Google project manager says.

Exclusive: The Chimpanzees of Gombe National Park Make Their Street View Debut

For its latest collection, Google traveled to the African rainforest where Jane Goodall pioneered her groundbreaking chimp research

Sugar gliders, marsupials native to Australia.

Adorable Portraits Put Nocturnal Animals in the Spotlight

A new photo book showcases animals we humans rarely see—while a new study says we may have more in common with night-dwellers than thought

From the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

100 Years After Her Death, Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon, Still Resonates

The famed bird now finds itself at the center of a flap over de-extinction

Joe McConaughy is trying to finish the Pacific Crest Trail faster than anyone ever has.

Cool Finds

Joe McConaughy Just Set a New Pacific Crest Trail Record

He finished all 2,660 miles, from Mexico and Canada, in 53 days, 6 hours and 37 minutes

This half-albino redwood tree has swirls of green and yellowish-white, as well as male and female cones.

Trending Today

Rare Half-Albino Redwood Tree Is Safe, For Now

One rare, half-albino redwood in California was slated to be chopped down, but local outcry has saved it

Beautiful Drone Video Captures Rarely Visited Area of Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs

Filmmaker Tristan Greszko takes us on an aerial journey through the isolated White Pocket of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

New Research

Playing Outside Enhances Kids’ Love of Nature and Animals

Exposure to the great outdoors could also influence kids’ ideas about the importance of conservation

New Research

Just Let Detroit’s Vacant Lots Run Wild

Neglected and overgrown lots are, it turns out, a boon to Detroit’s allergy sufferers

Cool Finds

Fly With The Birds In Nepal. No, Really.

Parahawking is just another way you can get up close and personal with nature

Camel statues mark the Desert of Maine, which is actually not a true desert.

The Science of a Tourist Trap: What’s This Desert Doing in Maine?

Maine’s “most famous natural phenomenon” is also a reminder about responsible land use

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