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Wildlife

A humpback whale

Humpback Whale Song Shares a Key Pattern With Human Language That Might Make It Easier for the Animals to Learn

Despite humans and whales being separated by millions of years of evolution, our vocalizations follow the same principle outlined in Zipf’s law

An artist's illustration of a plesiosaur, based on new research that finds these now-extinct sea monsters had both smooth and scaly skin.

Rare Fossil of 183-Million-Year-Old ‘Sea Monster’ Reveals Both Smooth and Scaly Skin

For the first time, scientists have completed an in-depth analysis of fossilized soft tissues from a plesiosaur

With their eyes nearly front and center, owls don’t benefit much from peripheral vision, but their heads can rotate 135 degrees in any direction, giving them a great field of view.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 15 Stunning Photos of Superb Owls to Kick Off This Year’s Super Bowl Weekend

These snapshots of the majestic bird in flight and in trees will leave your soul soaring

The coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) depends on chaparral habitat to survive. It has declined across much of its range due to habitat loss, whether from development or invasion of non-native grasses. After fires, non-native grasses often fill in habitat and create problems for the species.

Here’s How the Los Angeles Wildfires Are Affecting Animals, From Fish to Snakes to Birds

While scientists were able to save and move some creatures in the aftermath, researchers are worried about the prospects for other species

Penguins are attentive parents, with both males and females sharing the work. Here, displaying a common practice, each partner faces the other with a bowed head.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 15 Adorable Photos of Playful, Picture-Perfect Penguins

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show just why penguins have waddled into our hearts

Reef sharks are abundant in the new marine proteted area.

A New Marine Protected Area in the Marshall Islands Is Brimming With Life, Like a ‘Time Machine’ to Oceans Long Ago

The waters around two remote atolls in the central Pacific Ocean—spanning 18,500 square miles—are now protected from fishing

A tiger keelback feeds on poisonous toads and stores the poison for its own use.

Six Clever Snakes to Celebrate as We Slither Into the Lunar New Year

These fascinating serpents embody acclaimed qualities including cunning and intelligence

Laminella venusta is a state land snail endemic to Molokai.

How a Hawaiian High School Student Inspired Nine New State Animals

Researchers hope the designation of several species of land snails, or kāhuli, will lead to conservation

When a Japanese aquarium closed for a six-month renovation project, a sunfish named Mambo stopped eating and began rubbing up against the side of its tank. Aquarists wondered if the creature was lonely. (Mambo is not pictured.)

A Sunfish Got ‘Lonely’ When Its Aquarium Closed for Renovations. Then, Staff Found a Creative Way to Cheer It Up

The solitary fish named Mambo stopped eating and seemed to be missing its human visitors—so aquarists attached photos of human faces and uniforms to the side of its enclosure

A hiker soaks up the scenery as the sun sets in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park in Sydney.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Take a Journey Down Under With These Amazing Photos of Australia

From the outback to the coasts, see 15 images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Dinosaurs only started to live large after a mass extinction altered the planet in their favor.

How a Mass Extinction Driven by Ancient Volcanoes Led to the Age of the Dinosaurs

Roughly 201 million years ago, drastic changes extinguished many forms of life and led to conditions that allowed the terrible lizards to thrive

A new study on "contagious urination" only looked at captive chimpanzees, but researchers suspect the phenomenon may also exist in the wild.

For Chimpanzees, Peeing May Be Contagious—Just Like Yawning Is for Humans, Study Finds

Scientists suggest captive chimpanzees engage in ‘socially contagious urination’—that is, when one primate starts peeing, others quickly follow suit

Early 20th-century paleontologists wondered whether the small arms of Tyrannosaurus rex were used for grasping when the dinosaurs mated.

Everything You Want to Know About the Sex Lives of Dinosaurs, From Scratching the Ground to Battling With Horns

By evaluating fossils, scientists are learning what creature features may have been used to attract mates and fight off sexual competitors

One of the two recaptured lynx—another two are still on the loose

Four Lynx Have Been Illegally Released Into the Scottish Highlands. Officials Think ‘Guerrilla Rewilding’ Is to Blame

So far, only two of the four lynx have been recaptured, leaving authorities scrambling across the snowy woods to find the missing cats

A Surinam golden-eyed tree frog calls for a mate, puffing out its cheeks.

See 25 Incredible Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Cast your vote for your favorite of the photographs, which are all contenders for the People’s Choice award, through January 29

The Onodera Group, a Michelin-starred Japanese sushi restaurant chain, placed the winning bid for the massive fish.

Massive Bluefin Tuna the Size of a Motorcycle Sells for $1.3 Million at a Japanese Fish Market

The fish weighed 608 pounds, which is also about the same size as an adult male grizzly bear. It garnered the second highest bid at the Toyosu Market since records began in 1999

Matanuska Glacier north of Anchorage is one of the best spots for a more intense experience in the Alaskan wilderness.

Discover Alaska

Seven Ways to Explore Alaska’s Endangered Glacial World

With the state’s glaciers retreating at alarming rates, there is no time like now to trek, climb, paddle and fly to see them

Steller's sea eagles are massive birds of prey typically found along the coasts of northeastern Asia. The one pictured above is not the bird spotted in Canada.

Rare and Giant Steller’s Sea Eagle Spotted Thousands of Miles From Home in Eastern Canada Park

The bird, thought to be the only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is presumed to be Stella, an out-of-place raptor spotted at sites across North America in recent years

More than 1,300 tiny snails were released into the wild after a captive breeding effort. One baby snail is shown here on a British five pence coin.

Once Feared Extinct, 1,329 Pea-Sized Snails Have Been Released on an Atlantic Island After Captive Breeding Effort

Goats, rodents and habitat loss threatened the snails on Deserta Grande Island, so the mollusks were reintroduced on a neighboring island that’s free of invasive species

A northern saw-whet owl in Canada

Meet the Tiny, Adorable Owls That Have Mastered the Art of Hiding

One of the smallest owls in North America, the northern saw-whet lives among us and is rarely seen—but one volunteer science project aims to find them and uncover their secrets year after year

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