A wild giant otter photographed in the Bermejo River in Argentina's El Impenetrable National Park. This is the first time the species has been seen in Argentina in more than 30 years.

Planet Positive

Giant River Otter Spotted in Argentina for First Time in Decades

The first wild sighting of the species in Argentina since the 1980s, this surprise offers hope to conservationists looking to bring the otters back

Aussie Ark and other conservation groups collaborated to release 26 Tasmanian devils into a nature preserve north of Sydney. Their goal is to bring this species back to mainland Australia 3,000 years after they went locally extinct.

Tasmanian Devils Born on Mainland Australia Offer Hope for a Species at Risk of Extinction

Seven infant devils born inside an enclosed nature preserve represent a conservation milestone

Iztuzu Beach in Turkey was closed during part of the pandemic. Around the world, lockdowns to combat Covid-19 forced people to stay home and halt activities—with mixed results for ecosystems and the living things within them.

Covid-19

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Covid on Nature

The absence of humans in some places led animals to increase, while the cancellation of conservation work in other places harmed species

A California condor photographed in Tehachapi, California where this past week a group of the endangered raptors descended on a woman's back porch.

Group of Critically Endangered California Condors Trash Woman’s Deck

The group included 15 to 20 of the massive birds, which amounts to nearly 10 percent of the remaining wild population

A beaver peers out of a Hancock live trap after being captured by Molly Alves, a biologist with the Tulalip Tribe in Washington.

Scientists Are Relocating Nuisance Beavers to Help Salmon

When the rodents are moved from backyards to wild areas, they make their new watersheds better for fish

A donkey digging a well in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

New Research

Wild Donkeys and Horses Dig Wells That Provide Water for a Host of Desert Species

A new study finds these equine wells attracted 59 other vertebrate species, boasting 64 percent more species than the surrounding landscape

Cher stands with Kaavan, the elephant she helped rescue.

How Cher Helped Rescue the World’s Loneliest Elephant

A new documentary follows the five year struggle to save an elephant named Kaavan from abuse—and seeks to inspire similar efforts around the world

A bearded dragon moves in for a close-up. The Australian lizards face threats from habitat loss and rising temperatures.

In a Warming World, Heat Interferes With Sex Determination in These Australian Lizards

Scientists have discovered how hot temperatures override chromosomes in bearded dragons

The migration advances an average of 25 to 30 miles a day. A cyclist can cover similar distances.

What I Learned Biking the 10,000-Mile Migration Route of Monarch Butterflies

I set off to be the first person to cycle alongside the butterflies to raise awareness of their alarming decline

Participate in the City Nature Challenge by spotting and recording animals and plants in your city starting Apr 30.

Smithsonian Voices

Learn About Dogs, Mangroves and Gardens at Free Online Natural History Programs This Month

Stream these free programs and more this April through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

A newly emerged cicada from Brood X suns itself.

14 Fun Facts About Cicadas

Amazing details about the buzzing insects set to storm the United States this spring

Bears with intensifying symptoms either die or are require euthanasia. Those that survive require lifetime treatments and can't return to the wild.

A Puzzling Brain Disease Is Killing Black Bears in the Western United States

Some animals showing signs of a neurological disorder had brain inflammation, but the cause is still unknown

The site of the rabbit burrow has apparently been occupied by different groups over the millennia.

Cool Finds

Burrowing Bunnies in Wales Unearth Trove of Prehistoric Artifacts

Rabbits on Skokholm Island discovered Stone Age tools and fragments of a Bronze Age cremation urn

The juvenile walrus spent two days resting in Pembrokeshire, Wales before returning to sea.

How Did This Walrus Get to Wales?

The same walrus might have stopped briefly in Denmark and Ireland

All modern dogs are descended from a wolf species that when extinct around 15,000 years ago. Grey wolves, pictured here fighting for food with now extinct dire wolves (red), are dogs’ closest living relative.

Smithsonian Voices

Meet the Scientist Studying How Dogs Evolved From Predator to Pet

Learn about how humans of the past helped build the bond between us and our favorite furry friends

Leafhoppers are known for devastating crops like potatoes and grapes. But they can be a benign presence within a balanced jungle ecosystem.

Planet Positive

The Wild World of a New Nature Preserve in Ecuador

Scientists have already begun discovering new species in the hotbed of biodiversity

Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, where Aboriginal Warlpiri ranger Christine Ellis hunts feral cats to help protect native species

Australia’s Cats Kill Two Billion Animals Annually. Here’s How the Government Is Responding to the Crisis

A new report from the federal parliament recommends cat registration, nighttime curfews and spaying and neutering

Wildlife often reclaims areas deemed uninhabitable for humans, such as Nomans Land, Massachusetts, which was once a US Navy testing site.

This Uninhabited Island Off of Massachusetts Is Littered With Bombs

Whether wildlife refuge, research destination or restored traditional homeland, the fate of Nomans Land is up for debate

A young male in Lassen County, California, wears a collar that transmits his location. He was in a litter of four pups born in the area in 2019.

Planet Positive

The Wolf That Discovered California

Nearly a century after the last wolf was eradicated in the state, a lone female arrived and established a pack. Not everyone is cheering

A satellite image captured in September of 2020 shows how wildfire smoke blanketed the West Coast.

New Research

Wildfire Smoke Is More Damaging to Respiratory Health Than Other Sources of Air Pollution

Smoke exposure was associated with more hospital admissions than equivalent amounts of non-wildfire emissions

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