Animals

The wild denizens that share our planet, including videos, photo essays, and news on recently discovered—or increasingly rare—species.

Latest in Animals

Balto's taxidermy on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Animals

How different is Balto, the heroic sled dog, from today’s Siberian huskies?

By Laura Baisas

Evolution of human brain size shown with brass sculptures at a kids science museum in China
Animals

We probably have big brains because we got lucky

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Robot jellyfish swarms could soon help clean the oceans of plastic
Animals

Robot jellyfish swarms could soon help clean the oceans of plastic

By Andrew Paul

A mushroom called coprophilous grows in woods.
Animals

What prehistoric poop reveals about extinct giant animals

By Laura Baisas

Keep tabs on your furry friends with the best pet GPS tracker.
Animals

The best pet GPS trackers

By Alexandra Berry

Two mudskippers fighting in the mud, with eyes and pectoral fins exposed.
Animals

Mudskippers blink—and that’s a huge evolutionary clue

By Laura Baisas

A male chimpanzee named Frodo frowns.
Animals

Nice chimps finish last—so why aren’t all of them mean?

By Laura Baisas

A carnivorous Sarracenia plant growing in the wild.
Animals

Carnivorous pitcher plants may use tempting aromas to lure prey to their death

By Laura Baisas

Deep-sea mining has murky aftereffects
Animals

Deep-sea mining has murky aftereffects

By Elham Shabahat/Hakai Magazine

Giving drones inflatable suits could help them survive crash landings
Animals

Giving drones inflatable suits could help them survive crash landings

By Sara Kiley Watson

A forest elephant with a raised trunk surrounded by greenery. Forest elephants are much smaller in size compared to savanna elephants, and their ears are an oval shape.
Animals

Elephants and humans share surprising similarities. A new docuseries dives deep into that relationship.

By Laura Baisas

New Zealand’s wild pigs could be a source of much-needed donor organs
Agriculture

New Zealand’s wild pigs could be a source of much-needed donor organs

By Bill Morris/Undark

Sleeping elephant seals on a California beach
Animals

Seals snooze during 20-minute ‘sleeping dives’ to avoid predators

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

African penguins standing on a sandy beach.
Animals

How African penguins continue to survive changes in climate

By Laura Baisas

White Moluccan cockatoo on a branch turning toward a person's hand. Reddish flames are behind the bird to symbolize past trauma. Illustrated.
Animals

Parrots are deeply intelligent. But do we understand their emotions?

By Brandon Keim

Turf wars between whales and crabbers have increased due to climate change
Animals

Turf wars between whales and crabbers have increased due to climate change

By Jesse Kathan / Hakai Magazine

Brown garden snail eating a strawberry on a white table
Animals

Experience the uncomfortable weirdness of a snail eating fruit

By Laura Baisas

This robot dog learned a new trick—balancing like a cat
Animals

This robot dog learned a new trick—balancing like a cat

By Sara Kiley Watson

A polar bear standing on ice.
Animals

Why the biggest animals move so slowly

By Laura Baisas

The UN’s first high seas treaty could help dwindling Pacific salmon
Animals

The UN’s first high seas treaty could help dwindling Pacific salmon

By Sarah Trent / High Country News

An orb weaver spider spins a web in a forest.
Animals

Spider glue might evolve faster than the spiders themselves

By Laura Baisas

Examples of floating plastics collected in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre during The Ocean Cleanup’s 2018 expedition.
Animals

Some coastal critters are thriving in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Laura Baisas

The mysterious ‘Tully monster’ didn’t have a spine after all
Animals

The mysterious ‘Tully monster’ didn’t have a spine after all

By Jamie Dickman

Two carpet beetles on a white flower.
Animals

Ancient beetles had a taste for dinosaur feathers

By Laura Baisas

Black bear cub in a berry bush at Glacier National Park
Animals

Bears can count, take selfies, use tools, recognize supermodels, and even open car doors

By Ruscena Wiederholt

Baby cod seem to be drawn to the lullaby of wind turbines
Animals

Baby cod seem to be drawn to the lullaby of wind turbines

By Emily Harwitz / Hakai Magazine

An artistic rendering of the open woodland habitat reconstruction at Moroto II with Morotopithecus bishopi vertically climbing with infant on back and Mount Moroto, an active, in background.
Animals

A plant-based diet full of leaves may have helped apes stand upright

By Laura Baisas

Madagascar hissing cockroach balanced on human finger against green backdrop
Animals

Cyborg cockroaches could one day scurry to your rescue

By Andrew Paul

An adult Pygmy Zebra Octopus
Animals

Pygmy zebra octopus stripe patterns are as unique as human fingerprints

By Jamie Dickman

Brown bear paw in summer for blood clotting study
Animals

Hibernating bears hold many secrets for better human health

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Skeleton of paratype of Icaronycteris gunnelli, the oldest bat skeletons ever found.
Animals

Oldest bat skeleton ever found by paleontologists finally has a name

By Laura Baisas

Luna moth resting on a tree.
Animals

The alluring tail of the Luna moth is surprisingly useless for finding a mate

By Jamie Dickman

A black sea cucumber on the floor of the Indian Ocean.
Animals

Sea cucumbers have a Spiderman-esque superpower—and it involves their butts

By Laura Baisas

A bird called an American Redstart sits on the branch of a tree.
Animals

Delaying departure may help birds migrate around climate change

By Laura Baisas

Rainbow trout are vulnerable to viruses—and microplastics make them even sicker
Animals

Rainbow trout are vulnerable to viruses—and microplastics make them even sicker

By Elise Cutts/Hakai Magazine

A juvenile elephant named Ko Raya (left) with Pang Pha (right) at the Berlin Zoo. Scientists believe that Pang Pha taught herself how to peel bananas.
Animals

Pang Pha the elephant learned to peel bananas by mimicking humans

By Laura Baisas

A carpenter bee on a white flower. If you're trying to figure out how to get rid of carpenter bees, it's best not to kill these crucial pollinators.
Animals

Easy ways to stop carpenter bees from remodeling your home

By Julia Rittenberg

A warming climate is driving salmon to switch streams
Animals

A warming climate is driving salmon to switch streams

By Lesley Evans Ogden/Knowable Magazine

Dog’s are a human’s best friend—and a shorebird’s worst enemy
Animals

Dog’s are a human’s best friend—and a shorebird’s worst enemy

By Ben Goldfarb/Hakai Magazine

Woolly mammoths evolved tiny ears over 700,000 years in Siberia
Animals

Woolly mammoths evolved tiny ears over 700,000 years in Siberia

By Laura Baisas

Chronic wasting disease is sickening deer and elk. Could predators help?
Animals

Chronic wasting disease is sickening deer and elk. Could predators help?

By Christine Peterson/High Country News

A close-up of extended polyps of an apparently healthy great star coral colony on a reef near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The tentacles surrounding the mouth of each polyp help trap food particles for the coral to eat.
Animals

Caribbean coral is getting sick and dying. A probiotic could help.

By Laura Baisas

A snailfish that lives over 20,000 feet deep in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Animals

Say hello to the deepest-dwelling fish ever caught on camera

By Laura Baisas

Why snails and slugs are so slow
Animals

Why snails and slugs are so slow

By and Jared Adam/The Conversation, Daniel Bliss, John F. Tooker

An adult elephant walks with two juvenile elephants.
Animals

Scientists may have figured out why elephants exhibit complex emotions

By Laura Baisas

A capuchin monkey in a tree looking at the camera.
Animals

Do magic tricks work on monkeys? Only if they have opposable thumbs like us.

By Laura Baisas

This is how bad a ‘super pig’ problem can really get
Agriculture

This is how bad a ‘super pig’ problem can really get

By Sage Marshall/Field & Stream

An ostrich inspects eggs in a nest.
Animals

Troodons laid eggs in communal nests just like modern ostriches

By Laura Baisas

Scientists are finally getting into the rhythm of sea creatures’ lunar cycle
Animals

Scientists are finally getting into the rhythm of sea creatures’ lunar cycle

By Virat Markandeya/Knowable Magazine

Otters are back, but that doesn’t mean our rivers are safe
Animals

Otters are back, but that doesn’t mean our rivers are safe

By Carin Leong/Hakai Magazine

Japanese beekeepers holding honeycomb up at the top of a Tokyo skyscraper
Agriculture

Beehives are the honeypot for a city’s microbial secrets

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Lolita the killer whale performing its 40th anniversary performance at Miami Seaquarium.
Animals

After 50 years in captivity, Lolita the orca may be freed

By Laura Baisas

Critically endangered right whales are losing the battle against fishing boats
Animals

Critically endangered right whales are losing the battle against fishing boats

By Darren Incorvaia/Undark

Best dog food delivery services
Animals

The best dog food delivery services

By Chelsea Frank

Lab mouse on table in front of lab flasks and beakers in blue lighting
Animals

What video game-playing mice taught neuroscientists about memory-making

By Andrew Paul

A baby kisses a small dog
Animals

Babies who grow up around pets may be less likely to develop food allergies

By Laura Baisas

Polycirrus onibi, a newly discovered marine worm that glows in the dark, was named after a creature from Japanese folklore.
Animals

These newly discovered bioluminescent sea worms are named after Japanese folklore

By Laura Baisas

A baby song thrush bird looks up from the forest floor.
Animals

Postmortem poop can teach us a lot about the avian gut microbiome

By Laura Baisas

The parking lot outside a Buc-ee’s store in Temple, Texas.
Animals

A 15-million-year-old beaver was just named after an iconic convenience store

By Laura Baisas

Bears can run at surprisingly fast speeds—here’s how they vary by species
Animals

Bears can run at surprisingly fast speeds—here’s how they vary by species

By Bill Heavey/Field & Stream

How can you tell a dolphin’s age? Check its freckles.
Animals

How can you tell a dolphin’s age? Check its freckles.

By Marina Wang / Hakai Magazine

Desert daisy tricks male flies with sexy evolutionary deception
Animals

Desert daisy tricks male flies with sexy evolutionary deception

By Laura Baisas

A white-tailed jackrabbit in it's winter white fur.
Animals

Jackrabbit’s color-changing fur may prepare them for climate change

By Laura Baisas

A Canada goose opening its mouth and spreading its wings to protect its nest and its mate behind it at the edge of a marshy area.
Animals

Read this if you’re too scared to walk past a goose

By Alisha McDarris

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