Conservation (Page 5)

Protecting natural resources—from sea to sky—is about much more than planting a few trees.

Latest in Conservation

an baby orca surfaces behind its mother

Baby orca is a descendent of a whale almost sold to SeaWorld in 1976

By Laura Baisas

Mako shark swimming with orange octopus on its back

Shark’s ‘mystery hat’ turns out to be a giant octopus

a small bird with yellow plumage stands on a branch with its mouth wide open

Traffic noise is making these Galápagos birds more aggressive

By Laura Baisas

An Apollo 12 high-oblique view of the lunar nearside looking northeast toward the crater Copernicus (in center near horizon), as photographed from lunar orbit.

A startup wants to mine the moon for helium

Cougar kitten next to car tire in the snow

Cougar cubs spotted in Michigan for first time in over a century

a man in a diving tube on text

100 years of deep-sea filmmaking and ocean exploration

By Bill Gourgey

a man on a boat holds a large orange pet goldfish

Please stop releasing pet goldfish into the wild

By Laura Baisas

Blue-lined octopus in aquarium tank

Male octopus poisons its mate to avoid becoming post-sex snack

A mother humpback whale and her calf swimming in warm waters.

Whale pee moves vital nutrients thousands of miles

By Laura Baisas

a tiger leaps at a boar

12 riveting wildlife images from Nature inFocus Photography Awards

By Popular Science Team

two baby eagles tended to by their parent

The famous bald eagle nest live cam is back and we have 3 baby eaglets

By Laura Baisas

a large hornet dismembers a honey bee

1,400 different bug species found in the guts of Asian hornets

By Laura Baisas

An argentine ant is farming aphids on a young leaf.

Vicious invasive ants form gigantic supercolonies

three eggs in a nest. the egg on the right has a pip, which is the first crack in a shell. the pip is circled in red

Pips spotted! Live cam bald eagles’ eggs shows hopeful signs of hatching

By Laura Baisas

A polar bear mom and cub on sea ice, off the coast of Svalbard, Norway.

See the first moments when 3 polar bear cubs emerge from their den

By Laura Baisas

Nutria looking at camera against plant background

US Fish and Wildlife is begging you to eat more invasive marsh rodents

a newly discovered species of plant. it has fuzzy white wool on its green leaves, a yellow center, and two small red flowers

New species of fuzzy sunflower found by national park volunteer

By Laura Baisas

lush green tropical rainforest in Brazil. Mata Atlantica

Man from uncontacted tribe emerges from rainforest, signals to villagers

a seal with grey coloring wearing an orange heart rate monitor around its abdomen

Baby seals are wearing heart monitors–for science

By Laura Baisas

ROV screenshot of OceanGate Titan wreckage tail section

Listen to chilling underwater audio of the OceanGate ‘Titan’ implosion

a long python snake coiled in the grass with its head poking up

Hunting for Burmese pythons is best done in the dark

By Laura Baisas

an orange kitten with its paw up

Relax, Whiskers. Scotland is not banning cats

By Laura Baisas

a tiny green frog looking up from water

Frogs rescued from a deadly fungus welcome 33 froglets

By Laura Baisas

Bee with QR sticker held in researcher's hand

Researchers glued teeny-tiny QR codes to 30,000 bees

The bow of the RMS Titanic as it sits under the water.

‘Titanic’ artifact salvage efforts paused indefinitely

A black rhino rests under a rainbow at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. In 2024, 21 black rhinos were moved to their new home at Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. Kenyaís black rhino population was poached almost to extinction and went from a low of 290 animals to 1004 today. They are expanding their habitat and it is a testament to Kenyaís conservation efforts. Ami Vitaleís career stands as a testament to her deep dedication to documenting and addressing global crises. As an acclaimed National Geographic photographer, writer, and documentary filmmaker, as well as the founder of Vital Impacts, Ami has consistently spotlighted critical issues affecting our world. Her journey began in conflict zones, where she observed firsthand how environmental degradationófrom resource scarcity to climate changeóintensifies human suffering and conflict. Follow Ami on Instagram @amivitale Photo by Ami Vitale/The Nature Conservancy

16 enthralling wildlife photos spotlighting the need for conservation

By Popular Science Team

Fossil pine trees in Montana

Thawing tundra reveals ancient fossilized forest in Montana

a bird with white and black plummage and an egg on a nest and three other birds standing around her

Which animals reproduce at the oldest age?

By Laura Baisas

Yellowstone's Wolf 907F walking in the snow

Yellowstone’s ‘Queen of the Wolves’ dies after fight with rival pack

a baby pygmy hippo in an indoor tank with its mother nearby

Newest pygmy hippo born on US soil gets a name

By Laura Baisas

a puffin, whale tail at sunset, and a sea turtle

13 dramatic photos that capture the beauty of marine sanctuaries

By Popular Science Team

a brown dog ups up onto a tree and sniffs it, while its human handler points to what it is sniffing

Sniffing dogs join the fight against invasive spotted lanternflies

By Laura Baisas

Baby spider monkey in a pink onesie

Endangered baby monkey found clinging to driver of speeding Rolls Royce

a strange fish with a blob on its head sits on a rock

27 new, exciting, and blobby species discovered in the Peruvian rainforest

By Laura Baisas

A Sombrero ground lizard (Pholidoscelis corvinus) photographed on Sombrero Island in June 2021. This species is endemic to the Carribbean island.

Population of nearly extinct lizard grows 16X in only six years

By Laura Baisas

An Andean bear at the nature reserve Bioparque Wakata, in Briceno municipality near Bogota, Colombia, on June 21, 2023.

Shy ‘Paddington’ bears need more plants to survive

By Laura Baisas

a small blue-colored penguin called a little penguin swims in the ocean

Turtles and penguins have a swimming sweet spot that reduces drag

By Laura Baisas

a new shrimp-like crustacean. it is white with two protruding tusk-like appendages at its head, at least 8 legs, and two tail-like appendages at the back

New predator uncovered 25,000+ feet under the Pacific

By Laura Baisas

a microscopic zooplankton

Microscopic ‘eating and pooping machines’ are great at sucking up carbon

By Laura Baisas

Nautilus captured on video

After 15 years, a vessel named ‘Nautilus’ actually saw a nautilus

a variety of products on a banner reading 'best of what's new 2024'

The 50 greatest innovations of 2024

By Popular Science Team

a hand touching grass

What happens to our bodies when we touch grass

By Kathy Willis

an orca whale dorsal fin coming out of the water

Orcas observed preying on massive whale sharks

By Laura Baisas

a photo from the movie "moana 2." a whale shark swims by a group of voyagers on the ocean

‘We know the way’: How Polynesian voyagers navigate Earth’s biggest ocean

By Laura Baisas

a polar bear covered in snow

13 marvelous images from the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards

By Popular Science Team

Looking from the stern of the ship as it tows the long horizontal array of hydrophones. The tow cable can be seen going through the metal horn at the stern. The hydrophone array is several hundred meters behind the ship and about 200 meters deep. Credit: Ross Chapman

New theory explains mysterious ocean quacking first heard in the 1960s

bottlenose dolphin screaming

A lone dolphin has been yelling into Baltic Sea for years

By Mack DeGeurin

A mother and calf West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Crystal River, Florida.

Florida’s famous manatees were originally tourists

By Laura Baisas

SpaceX Starship launching on fifth test flight

The SpaceX Starship is so loud, it may kill birds

An eye and arms of an octopus. The small dots visible around the eye are the chromatophores.

For octopuses, changing colors is hard work

By Lauren Leffer

a female mountain lion walks at night with some kittens behind her

Mountain lions in Los Angeles become night owls to avoid humans

By Laura Baisas

A diver from National Geographic Pristine Seas measures the world’s largest coral colony in the Solomon Islands.

World’s largest coral discovered and it’s longer than a blue whale

By Laura Baisas

a colorful coral reef with fish swimming above it

Chlorine and cocoa butter may help disease-ridden corals

By Laura Baisas

a small baby gibbon with large eyes sits on its mother

Endangered newborn siamang gibbon is a ‘sign of hope’

By Laura Baisas

a new mollusc with a hood over its head

New deep-sea slug catches crustaceans like a Venus fly trap

By Laura Baisas

two leopards fighting in dirt

14 dramatic moments from the 2024 Nature’s Best Photo Awards

By Popular Science Team

Pocket gopher emerging from burrow

How a crew of gophers helped Mount St. Helens bounce back

a lone coyote in a forest looks into a camera lense

Coyotes appear to be thriving under pressure

By Laura Baisas

two sperm whales singing

New method for finding sperm whales kind of works like a rideshare app

By Laura Baisas

a large rat wearing a red vest holds a dark, round, ball

Giant three-pound rats trained to sniff out illegal poaching

By Laura Baisas

a bat with brown, black, and white fur and open eyes

Robert Battinson, Batlor Swift, and more face off in Bat Beauty Contest

By Laura Baisas

Sensors spread throughout the garden will measure the garden soil for changes in temperature, moisture, and other environmental factors.

AI helps plants tell you when they are thirsty

By Mack DeGeurin

A nearly 15-foot-long Burmese python devours a 77-pound deer in Florida.

Burmese pythons stretch their mouths even wider than we thought possible

Jeff VanderMeer next to book cover for Absolution

Jeff VanderMeer talks about his new novel and ‘deranged court jester’ Elon Musk