Animals

The otherworldly form of the octopus has inspired millennia of fear and awe from humans.

Ten Wild Facts About Octopuses: They Have Three Hearts, Big Brains and Blue Blood

These bizarre creatures have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and for humans, they’ve inspired horror, admiration and culinary prestige

An illustration of the fossil skeleton of the new bird species Imparavis attenboroughi and a reconstruction of what the animal would have looked like in flight.

'Strange' New Prehistoric Bird Discovered in China and Named for David Attenborough

The proto-bird lived some 120 million years ago and did not have teeth—a trait more similar to birds of today than to birds of its time—sharpening scientists' understanding of avian evolution

Asian elephants were observed burying calves between 3 months and 1 year old that had died after experiencing infections and malnutrition.

Asian Elephants Bury Their Dead, New Research Suggests

In India, five dead calves were found buried on their backs in irrigation ditches, with evidence that multiple herd members had participated in the burials

P. karlraubenheimeri lived during the Miocene Epoch roughly 8.8 million years ago.

Fossil Hunter Discovers Gigantic Crab in New Zealand—a New, Extinct Species

The massive creature is 8.8 million years old, and its modern descendants in Australia can grow to be the weight of a human toddler

Wildlife officials released 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon fry into Fall Creek. A large but unknown number of them died as they passed through a tunnel on the Klamath River.

Hundreds of Thousands of Salmon Die After Release in Northern California's Klamath River

The juvenile Chinook salmon likely died from pressure changes as they swam through an old tunnel in the Iron Gate Dam, slated to be removed this year as part of a massive demolition project

Mining foreman R. Thornburg shows a small cage with a canary used for testing carbon monoxide gas in 1928.

What Happened to the Canary in the Coal Mine? The Story of How the Real-Life Animal Helper Became Just a Metaphor

The humble bird, which was employed until 1986, represents an important part of mining history

The gray whale was spotted during an aerial survey on March 1, about 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

A Rare Gray Whale, Believed Extinct in the Atlantic for 200 Years, Has Been Spotted off New England

Scientists say a lack of Arctic sea ice due to climate change could have created a passageway for the mammal to travel from the Pacific Ocean

A yellow-billed loon was spotted hanging out on the Las Vegas Strip this week, far from its usual habitat in Alaska and the high Arctic.

Very Rare Yellow-Billed Loon Visits the Las Vegas Strip, Hangs Out in the Bellagio Fountains

The out-of-place bird prompted the hotel to put its famed fountain show on hold before biologists captured and moved the bird—one of the country's ten rarest—to better habitat

A mutation in a gene called TBXT may be behind the loss of great apes' tails, according to a new study.

Why Don’t Humans Have Tails? An Old Genetic Mutation Could Explain Why Monkeys, but Not Apes, Have the Extra Appendage

Scientists have pinpointed a genetic change that might have led the ancestors of humans to lose their tails

Two green and black poison dart frogs

Why Do Poison Dart Frogs 'Tap Dance' With Their Toes? Research Sheds Light on Feeding Time Footwork

Scientists observed frogs tapping their toes up to 500 times per minute when prey was present, suggesting the behavior is related to predation

An orca hunting sea lion pups on an Argentinian beach in 2006. Before the recent study, killer whales had only been observed hunting white sharks in groups.

Single Orca Spotted Killing a Great White Shark for the First Time Ever

In less than two minutes, the marine mammal attacked a juvenile white shark and ripped out its liver in an encounter off the coast of South Africa last year

The cat-eyed snake slithers in the Peruvian Amazon.

A Serpentine 'Explosion' 125 Million Years Ago Primed Snakes for Rapid, Diverse Evolution

Researchers say an evolutionary "singularity" led to several small, quick changes in snake species, from legless bodies and flexible skulls to chemical-sensing abilities

Want to know what a sand tiger shark has been eating? Look to its teeth.

What Centuries-Old Shark Teeth Reveal About Brazil's Ocean

Researchers examined the remnants of a 13th-century fishing site to get a picture of how the marine ecosystem has changed

A Brazilian flea toad sits on a Brazilian real. The coin is 27 millimeters across.

The World's Smallest Vertebrate Is a Tiny Brazilian Frog, Study Finds

Adult male Brazilian flea toads are just over 7 millimeters long on average, and females measure about 8.15 millimeters

Weliton Menário Costa dances in "Kangaroo Time," his winning music video about kangaroo behavior research.

Watch This Year's 'Dance Your PhD' Contest Winner, a Musical Celebration of Kangaroo Behavior

“Kangaroo Time” took home the competition’s overall prize, while interpretive dances on early life adversity, circadian rhythms and streambank erosion were also honored

Because the fish are translucent and they lack skulls, they're a favorite research subject of neuroscientists.

This Tiny Fish Can Make Sounds That Rival an Airplane or an Elephant—Now, Scientists Know How

Transparent and just half an inch long, male Danionella cerebrum can make noises of more than 140 decibels

An adult humpback whale and calf. In the new study, the researchers blew air into the larynxes of three deceased whales, including a humpback, to learn how the the organ makes sound.

Scientists Discover How Some Whales Can Sing While Holding Their Breath Underwater

Baleen whales have evolved unique voice boxes essential for song, a new study finds—but these low-frequency vocalizations must compete with the noise of humans' ships

Joro spiders aren't particularly bothered by the vibrations of a busy city environment.

Joro Spiders, Spreading in the Southeast, Can Survive Surprisingly Well in Cities

Unlike most spiders, the hustle and bustle of urban areas doesn’t seem to disturb the non-native Joros, a new study finds

Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, sits in a tree in Central Park. The bird roosted and hunted in the park during the year following his escape, becoming popular with local birders, before his death on February 23.

Flaco, the Famous Owl That Escaped the Central Park Zoo, Dies After Hitting a Building

The Eurasian eagle-owl had been living free in New York City after someone cut the wires on his zoo cage last year

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are two of the giant pandas who lived at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in recent years. They were returned to China in November 2023.

More Giant Pandas Are Coming to the U.S. in a New Loan From China

China plans to send a male and a female panda to the San Diego Zoo as early as this summer, and negotiations are underway for pandas' possible return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

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