Animals

The "wombat walker" will "coax [the wombats] out of bed to get them moving" and "[motivate] them to complete their morning walks."

Tasmania Is Hiring for a 'Wombat Walker' and Other Odd Jobs

The Australian island state is trying to drum up tourism during the Southern Hemisphere's winter

Honeybees have a very good sense of smell.

Honeybees Can Sniff Out Lung Cancer, Scientists Suggest

New research opens the door for doctors to one day use bees as a living diagnostic tool

Spinner dolphins swim in the Red Sea. Research has shown some dolphins are shy, while others are extroverted.

Five Amazing Dolphin Behaviors, Explained

From calling each other by name to using tools, these social creatures are a lot like us

Painted ladies are known for making long migrations over land.

These Stunning Butterflies Flew 2,600 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean Without Stopping

Researchers combined several lines of evidence to solve the mystery of why a group of painted ladies, which do not live in South America, were found fluttering on a beach in French Guiana

The Wolfe family met Kevin as a puppy, but he grew to be three feet and two inches tall.

The World's Tallest Male Dog Dies Days After Receiving the Record

Kevin, a Great Dane, measured over three feet tall—about the same size as an average 3-year-old child

Wild chimpanzees in Uganda appeared to seek out and eat specific plants with medicinal properties when they were sick.

Chimpanzees May Self-Medicate With Plants, Using the Forest as a Pharmacy

New research suggests sick chimps seek out and eat plants with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties—a finding that could advance drug discovery for humans

Mai Fahmy captured videos of leeches jumping during two separate trips to Madagascar.

Watch Blood-Sucking Leeches Leap From Leaves and Soar Through the Air

New videos may help settle scientists' long-standing debate over whether leeches can jump

A Forster's tern appears to float upside-down after emerging from underwater at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, California.

See 12 Captivating Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards

In its 15th year, the contest showcases diverse avian species, their fascinating behaviors and the habitats needed to keep them alive

A fake foot helps researchers at California State University, Long Beach, determine how stingrays react when they come in contact with people.

When Do Stingrays Strike?

A California researcher and his team simulate stepping on round rays to learn more about their behavior

An artist's portrayal of Lokiceratops rangiformis, which lived in the swamps of western North America about 78 million years ago.

Dinosaur With Giant, Loki-Like Horns Has the 'Craziest, Coolest' Headgear—and Could Be a New Species

The discovery sheds light on the evolution of a surprisingly diverse group of horned dinosaurs in the western United States

The two Hudson Bay polar bear groups are often considered indicators of how the 17 other polar bear subpopulations will fare in the future.

Time Is Running Out for the Hudson Bay Polar Bears

The southern and western subpopulations are on track to disappear as sea ice becomes too thin amid rising global temperatures

Photographer Miles Astray shot this image of a flamingo scratching itself with its beak on a beach in Aruba.

How a Real Photo of a Flamingo Snuck Into—and Won—an A.I. Art Competition

The photographer entered the image into a contest's artificial intelligence category to "prove that human-made content has not lost its relevance"

The white bison calf and its mother were spotted in Yellowstone National Park.

Rare White Bison Calf Born at Yellowstone National Park

A photographer spotted the calf on June 4. White buffalo are sacred to some Native American tribes, and the birth has been called a "blessing and a warning"

While scientists have seen colossal squid before—like this specimen examined by New Zealander researchers in 2014—their interactions have always been with animals that were either pulled from the depths, washed up on shore or otherwise removed from their natural habitat.

Is This the First Recorded Footage of a Colossal Squid Living Freely?

The only sightings of the animals so far have come from corpses or creatures dragged up from the depths

Newly examined fossils suggest monotremes—egg-laying mammals—were once much more abundant in Australia than they are today.

Meet the 'Echidnapus,' an Extinct Creature That Resembles Both the Echidna and Platypus of Today

The species is among three newly identified monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, discovered from fossils in Australia that are shedding light on the odd animals' evolution

An endangered Przewalski's horse is released into the Altyn Dala "Golden Steppe" in central Kazakhstan.

Endangered Wild Horses Return to Kazakhstan for the First Time in at Least 200 Years

The international effort, led by the Prague Zoo, released seven Przewalski’s horses to their native steppe habitat in central Asia

The behemoth carcass has attracted lots of curious onlookers to Gearhart Beach.

See the Rare, 2,000-Pound Hoodwinker Sunfish That Washed Ashore in Oregon

The species was only described in 2017 after "hiding in plain sight" for nearly three centuries

Elephants at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, on May 3, 2024. Elephants use low, rumbling vocalizations to call to others and while caring for their young.

African Elephants May Call Each Other by Name

In a new study, a computer model was able to identify the recipient of an elephant's call more than a quarter of the time, which scientists say is significantly greater than chance

Monarchs, some frogs and other animals feed on toxic plants or bugs for protection

A Poisonous Diet Gives These Animals Their Own Toxic Defense

From monarchs to sea slugs, various creatures consume chemicals that keep predators at bay

Wombats are stocky marsupials that can weigh up to 85 pounds.

Don't Call Wombats Heroes, but Their Burrows Do Provide Food, Water and Shelter for Other Animals

During Australia’s devastating bushfires in 2019 and 2020, misinformation spread about wombats welcoming animals into their underground homes—but a new study finds a kernel of truth in the viral story

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