Conservation (Page 5)

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

Latest in Conservation

a leopad seal with its mouth wide open

15 riveting images from the 2025 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition

By Popular Science Team

Gonatus Antarcticus squid seen underwater

Watch the mesmerizing first-ever footage of a rare Antarctic squid

a blue fish with a pointy face in a california kelp forest

Q&A with the team behind ‘Ocean with David Attenborough’

By Laura Baisas

Dead coral sit on the ocean bed in the Straits of Florida near Key Largo, Florida, on September 23, 2021. The coral is very gray and white

Probiotics can help heal ravaged coral reefs

By Laura Baisas

a small frog on a road, with a person's bright sneakers in the background

Wildlife underpass reduces squished amphibians by 80%

By Laura Baisas

a large American bullfrog in water with vegetation

This invasive frog can fit baby turtles inside its mouth

By Margherita Bassi

Adélie penguins walking along the Antarctic coastline.

How pungent poop could help Antarctica’s penguins

By Laura Baisas

Man holding woolly rat out for camera

Elusive woolly rat photographed for the first time

a humpback whale calf swims in front of its mother

Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles

By Laura Baisas

a bird sits in several paper towels forming a circular donut-shaped nest

Why a ‘donut’ can help injured birds

By Margherita Bassi

four puffins with white and black plumage and bright orange bills stand on a rock overlooking the north sea

Puffin-counting season begins with two new livestreams

By Laura Baisas

a tiger peers through a rib cage of dead animal

17 unforgettable images from the Environmental Photography Awards

By Popular Science Team

Open dishwasher with clean dishes in the white kitchen

The science of why you should use your dishwasher

Close up of deep sea squid

Humans have only seen 0.001 percent of the ocean floor

Close up of aoudad ram

Texas aims to legalize hunting invasive sheep from helicopters

Urban farming sustainability concept, captured in Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Surviving global catastrophe is a matter of community, not commerce

a papier mache bird sits in a field

Grand Teton deploys papier-mâché birds

By Popular Science Team

A Yangtze finless porpoise hunting in China’s Poyang Lake. Fish are jumping all around the porpoise as it leaps out of the water.

Poems spanning 1,400 years tell the tale of a revered porpoise

By Laura Baisas

a brown building against mountain backdrop

Visit one of the world’s most prolific research stations in Colorado mountains

By Alisha McDarris

Mule deer scratching itself

Good luck guessing Yosemite’s most dangerous animal

An axolotl crawling up to the aquarium pane at the Hamburg animal shelter.

Axolotls raised in captivity can survive in the wild

By Laura Baisas

Bald eaglets in canoe with caps over eyes

Rescuers borrow canoe to save baby bald eagles in river

two baby gorillas play in a tree

20 unforgettable images of Earth’s animal kingdom

By Popular Science Team

Side by side of uncooked and cooked 3D printed vegan calamari rings

3D-printed calamari is back on the menu

a small marsupial with white spots stands on the ground

Watch endangered marsupials return to Australian bushland after 62 years

By Laura Baisas

Coiled rattlesnake near flowering bush

Rattlesnakes may evolve specialized venoms

World War II jeep found at site of underwater shipwreck

NOAA needs help identifying car found in WWII shipwreck

Skelleftea, Sweden A moose warning sign on a country road in summer.

It’s time to tune in to the Great Moose Migration livestream

Spotted dolphin with head above water

Google made an AI model to talk to dolphins

Close up of cane toad tadpole eating toad eggs underwater

Cannibal tadpoles help Australia fight invasive species

Gooseneck kettle pouring water into pour-over coffee carafe on table next to coffee beans and mugs

How to brew the best pour-over coffee, according to science

Gold mining operation on banks of river in Amazon rainforest

Trees can snitch on illegal gold miners in the Amazon

Galapagos tortoise

97-year-old Galápagos tortoise becomes first-time mom

Man swimming in river seen from POV of GoPro camera

YouTuber arrested for approaching uncontacted tribe in India

Green ocean island water against blue sky with mountains in distance

Earth’s oceans weren’t always blue, scientists say

Transparent wood sample overlaying 'Transparent wood (TW)' on computer screen

Eggs, sticky rice, and transparent wood create new kind of window

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