Animals

Nearly 1,000 birds died in a single night after flying into windows at McCormick Place Lakeside Center in October 2023.

Chicago Building Where Nearly 1,000 Birds Died in One Night Last Fall Installs Bird-Safe Window Film

The glass-covered lakefront convention center has long been known among wildlife advocacy groups as a site of mass casualties for migratory birds

A lesser flamingo feeds at Lake Bogoria, in Kenya.

How Will Climate Change Hurt Lesser Flamingos?

Their food supply in East African lakes could collapse as rains increase

Researchers experimented with venom from red spitting cobras (pictured here), as well as black-necked spitting cobras.

Common Blood Thinners Could Combat Snakebites, Preventing Tissue Damage and Amputations, Study Finds

An estimated 400,000 people per year are permanently disabled because of snake venom, which can cause lesions and necrosis at the bite site

A reconstruction of a giant armadillo in the collection of paleontology at the Museo de La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Was This Giant, Armadillo-Like Animal Butchered by Humans in Argentina 21,000 Years Ago?

The creature's bones show evidence of cutting with stone tools, adding to a series of findings that suggest humans were present in the Americas earlier than thought

Mango, Hilary Pecis, 2024

See Fetching Portraits of Man's Best Friend in a New Exhibition All About Dogs

"Dog Days of Summer" features artworks in a variety of styles made between 1915 and the present

Rattlesnakes have gotten a bad rap over the years, but a live stream of their attentive parenting behaviors could help change that.

Look Into a 'Mega Den' of 2,000 Slithering Rattlesnakes With This Live Stream in Colorado

Run by researchers at Cal Poly, the stream is part of a citizen science initiative that aims to change the public's perception of the much-maligned reptiles

The remains of whales that sink to the ocean floor become biological oases. Since 1977, scientists had only identified about 50 such whale falls across the world’s oceans, but a recent effort uncovered a startling density of them off the coast of Los Angeles.

Why Have So Many Whale Remains Been Found on the Ocean Floor Near Los Angeles?

Scientists have discovered more whale falls there than in the rest of the world combined

DOC ranger Jim Fyfe and Māori ranger Tūmai Cassidy walk alongside a cetacean, thought to be a rare spade-toothed whale, being transported by Trevor King Earthmoving.

The World's Rarest Whale May Have Just Washed Ashore in New Zealand

No one has ever recorded a live sighting of the spade-toothed whale, but experts say the dolphin-like creature found earlier this month is "no doubt" a member of the elusive species

Baby beluga whales and adults alike spend the summer in the Churchill River.

Watch Chatty Beluga Families Migrate With These Stunning Live Cams in Canada

Polar Bears International and Explore.org are once again capturing video footage and audio recordings of the social marine mammals as tens of thousands congregate in the Churchill River this summer

Some historians have suggested the giant turtle reported in 1948 was an alligator snapping turtle, pictured here. Other experts disagree with this theory.

Could Citizens of This Indiana Town Have Seen a 500-Pound Turtle?

Two men said they saw such an animal, dubbed the Beast of Busco, in 1948

American oystercatchers use their orange bills to pry open shellfish.

Nesting Shorebirds Are Mobbing Drones on New York City Beaches

The drones, equipped with inflatable life rafts, were intended to help improve public safety for humans this summer—but they're also upsetting orange-beaked birds called American oystercatchers

Museum officials hope to pass along cheesemaking traditions to younger generations.

You Can Now Visit France's First-Ever Cheese Museum

The Musée du Fromage in Paris hosts tastings and teaches visitors about traditional cheesemaking practices

A damselfly covered with drops of dew sits on a leaf in this close-up photo.

See Ten Creepy-Crawly Portraits From the Insect Week Photography Contest

The Royal Entomological Society’s Photography Competition highlights the wonder and diversity of the six-legged creatures that crawl, swim and fly across the planet

Asteroid impacts and volcanism have led to mass extinctions on our planet.

Has Life on Earth Survived More Than Five Mass Extinctions?

Scientists aren’t just arguing whether humans are causing a sixth mass extinction event now, but whether many more occurred in the past

The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is one of the few animals that spends its entire life at high elevations.

Meet the Rare, 'Beautiful' Birds That Thrive in Snow and Are at Risk Because of Climate Change

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan as threatened under the Endangered Species Act this month

For some animals, romance goes more smoothly when it comes with gifts.

When It Comes to Romantic Gift-Giving, Humans Aren’t Alone. Snails, Birds and Flies All Woo Each Other With Presents

Throughout the animal kingdom, sweethearts bestow offerings with their amorous advances

Ranchers and landowners consider dingoes pests, while conservationists say they are vitally important to Australia's ecosystem.

Ancient DNA Unravels the Mysteries of the Dingo, Australia's Wild Dog

Researchers dove into thousands of years of evolutionary history, revealing new insights about the iconic, though sometimes vilified, canines

Winged Life Winner

View 11 Breathtaking Images From the BigPicture Photography Competition

This 2024 showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places

A popular display in the Whatcom Museum’s Hall of Birds features several owls.

Meet the Taxidermists Who Care for the Animals at Your Favorite Museums

Only a few U.S. museums still employ the specialists. The rest rely on a small group of highly skilled contractors

In a still from a video, an ant at the bottom of the image bites off the leg of a wounded ant with a purple marker on its back.

Carpenter Ants Perform Life-Saving Amputations to Treat Leg Injuries

A new study provides the first evidence of non-human animals performing amputations on others to improve their odds of survival

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