Wildlife(Page 2)

The latest on the fascinating flora and fauna of our planet.

Latest in Wildlife

Rhesus macaque bones in Roman animal cemetery grave

Roman generals gifted kittens and piglets to their pet monkeys

three lions yawning

19 hilarious and delightful Comedy Wildlife Photography Award winners

By Popular Science Team

Close up of Nazca booby bird

Female Galápagos birds flaunt their sexual partners. The males don’t seem to mind.

Endangered Species

German hairy snails are disappearing from London’s River Thames

By Margherita Bassi

A close-up, colorized photograph of a middle-aged man with a stern expression and a thick, reddish-brown beard. He is superimposed over a faded, beige background of densely printed, historical text, suggesting he is a figure related to the document's content, which appears to discuss Cattalo or Beefalo (a cow and buffalo hybrid), based on the filename.

The strange Wild West tale of the first cow-buffalo hybrid

By Bill Gourgey

This is a type of animal that is related to land spiders but does not belong to that group. They can grow to the size of a palm in the deep sea around Antarctica, but this particular species is only a few millimeters in size Photo: Natural History Museum, London & Göteborgs universitet

Deep sea mining test uncovered multiple new species

Inside the mouth of this anchovy, plankton particles are captured by the gill arch system.

Sardine-inspired washing machine filter removes 99% of microplastics

Endangered Species

Ruby the turtle needs a new greenhouse. Dance companies are stepping up.

By Laura Baisas

Close-up of the mass of rocks in the throat of Chromeornis (the rocks are the gray mass just to the left of the neck bones).

Why did this ancient bird die with tiny rocks in its throat?

Frog eating hornet in cage

Pond frogs devour murder hornets, stinger and all

several full fish laying on ice. the fish are orange, white, and multicolored

Afraid your fish is too fishy? Smart sensors might save your nose

By Mack DeGeurin

Close up of young rhesus macaque monkey eating peanut

Escaped lab monkey finds new home at New Jersey animal sanctuary

Ants checking pupa cocoon against white background

Sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to save their colony

Large green anaconda in grass

Anacondas have been huge for over 12 million years

A dress inspired by the paradise riflebird, uses a new ultra-black fabric created in Cornell University’s Responsive Apparel Design Lab.

The darkest fabric ever made is now a dress

By Laura Baisas

an bird with white and black feathers called an albatross

Record-breaking 75-year-old mother bird prepares to nest

By Laura Baisas

This photograph captures the resilience of a Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul) in the aftermath of a heavy snowstorm in eastern Mongolia, where temperatures plunged to -35°C with wind chill. Covered entirely in snow, including its eyes, this elusive feline relies on remarkable adaptations to thrive in such extreme conditions. With its eyes positioned high on its forehead and flat ears that enhance its camouflage, the Pallas’s cat can blend seamlessly into its environment, becoming indistinguishable from a snow-covered rock. This behavior, essential for avoiding predators, highlights its extraordinary survival strategies. For me, coming from Kuwait, where temperatures reach up to 53°C, photographing this moment was a test of endurance in unfamiliar, extreme cold. Shivering from the freezing wind, I was awestruck by the cat’s ability to navigate and remain undeterred despite the heavy snow. This image showcases not only the Pallas’s cat’s incredible adaptations but also the perseverance required to capture wildlife in some of the planet’s harshest environments.

17 images capturing the brutality and beauty of nature

By Popular Science Team

a chimpanzee in green grass

Chimpanzees shock biologists with rational thinking

By Margherita Bassi

Newly described muscle anatomy (right) and overall jaw anatomy of Dunkleosteus terrelli (center), compared to a more typical arthrodire (left)

Cleveland’s beloved ancient sea monster was more turtle than shark

A trail camera still shows a gray wolf standing on a dark, rocky shore near the edge of calm water, pulling a crab trap out of the water using a rope attached to a red and white buoy. The background consists of dark water reflecting a dense forest.

Wolf uses tool in stunning video

a monkey with its hand over its mouth

Endangered Species

10 captivating images from National Geographic’s Photo Ark

By Popular Science Team

A female kestrel in a cherry orchard in northern Michigan.

Falcons help keep bird poop off your delicious cherries

By Laura Baisas

Big Foot Crossing sign in the wilderness of Colorado

What Bigfoot hunters get right (and very wrong)

a chimp looks at a monarch butterfly

14 moving images from the 2025 Nature Photographer of the Year awards

By Popular Science Team

A monk parakeet preens a friend. Researchers used dye markers to identify individuals for their social experiment.

Parakeets teach a lesson in friendship

By Laura Baisas

ancient reindeer antlers on rocks

Hiker stumbles on massive medieval reindeer traps in Norway

By Margherita Bassi

a black cat sitting in green grass ready to pounce

Cats love to massacre bugs, and scientists have the videos to prove it

By Mack DeGeurin

A close-up photograph of a vibrant yellow snake, coiled around a horizontal brown branch. The snake, a white-lipped island pit viper, has reddish accents on its tail and is looking directly at the camera with large, bright eyes, set against a softly blurred green and blue background.

How do snakes move? It’s not all slithering.

By Clarissa Brincat

Close up of glossy black wolf snake

Endangered Species

New wolf snake honors the late Steve Irwin

Close up of Calumma gallus chameleon. Males of Calumma gallus have a nasal appendage with distinct spines.

Endangered Species

No lie. The long-nosed Pinocchio chameleon is multiple species.

a baby chimp on an adult chimpanzee's back

Chimpanzees’ brutal battle for territory leads to a baby boom

By Laura Baisas

Parasite ant queen amid worker ants as they attack their own queen

Violent queen ant coup staged by parasitic ants

a small brown and white owl on a brown towel

Alaska’s smallest owl gets the royal treatment after life-threatening injury

By Margherita Bassi

a humpback whale follows two dolphins

13 dizzying and dazzling images from 2025 Drone Photo Awards

By Popular Science Team

The frozen carcass of a 39,000-year-old female woolly mammoth named Yuka from the Siberian permafrost is displayed for an exhibition in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on July 12, 2013 at a press preview before the opening.

Oldest known RNA found in 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth leg

two black whales under water. one is diving down the other is looking at a camera head on

Hawaii’s short-finned pilot whales eat over 77,000 squid a year

By Laura Baisas

Sperm whales swimming in clear water

Sperm whales use vowels like humans, new study finds

By Laura Baisas

person petting a turtle

Endangered Species

Trafficked turtles get a second chance at life in New Jersey sanctuary

By Laura Baisas

An octopus camouflages itself with the seafloor.

What octopus camouflage has to do with sunscreen

By Margherita Bassi

R2-D2 is seen with Star Wars BDX Droids backstage during Star Wars Celebration Japan on April 19, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

Bird or droid? Starlings nail R2-D2 beeps and boops.

By Mack DeGeurin

a woodpecker with black white and a little bit of red plumage on a tree

Woodpeckers grunt like tennis players

By Laura Baisas

Close up of tree toad

Endangered Species

These toads don’t start as tadpoles

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2025 Bret Saalwaechter Tracy United States Title: I Just Can't Wait To Be King Description: While photographing a pride of lions in the Serengeti, I watched as a group of cubs channeled their innter toddler tantrum, relentlessly demanding milk and attention from their mother, much to the exasperation of the adult lions. Life in the dry season is no picnic—lions are anxiously waiting for the Great Migration and the feast it promises—but it makes for some incredible wildlife behavior and these cubs were the stars of the show. For over an hour, they followed their mother around a famous Serengeti kopje—those iconic rocky outcrops that dot the landscape—alternating between trying to suckle and play. Each time the mother, already in a foul mood from the sweltering heat, would give a quick roar of disapproval and escape the circus. But the cubs, like any persistent little ones, would chase her down, nipping at her and yelping for more attention. This back-and-forth drama played out again and again, until I captured the perfect moment: the entire pride, in perfect unison, seemed to say, “Not this again!” Animal: Lion Location of shot: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

14 hilarious finalists from the 2025 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

By Popular Science Team

Video screenshot of remoras attached to humpback whale

Ride on a humpback whale with little sucker fish

A warning sign is seen at the closed walking trail to the observatory in the Shirakawago district, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Japan deploys army to fight bears

Seized ivory and rhino tusks photographed by law enforcement

Endangered Species

Endangered rhino horns and elephant tusks seized in California

a bird with white and gray plummage

Rare seabird saved after swallowing four large fishhooks

By Laura Baisas

P. Mikazuki Portuguese Man O'War

Portuguese Man O’War species honors ‘One-Eyed Dragon’ samurai

An orca swims next to a shark with a visible wound. Image by Marco Villegas.

Orcas are hunting young great white sharks for their livers

Eastern hellbender salamander underwater in river

Hellbender salamanders are huge—and in trouble

a plump brown spider

Beware, beachgoers: New spider discovered in California’s sand dunes

By Margherita Bassi

Bat flying down to attack a frog in rainforest pond

This tiny bat is one of the world’s deadliest hunters

A dark, grainy infrared or night-vision security camera image shows a mouse or rat on a ledge or windowsill, grappling with and biting a flying bat. The bat is visible on the left, upside down in mid-air with its wings spread, as the rodent lunges at it. The entire scene is dominated by shades of white and gray against a dark background.

Caught on camera: Rats hunting bats mid-flight

A wasp spider in its web inside Sierra Mariola Natural Park in Bocairent, Valencian Community, Spain.

Spiders ‘decorate’ their webs to help trap dinner

By Laura Baisas

Side-by-side of a coiled green mamba and a white llama

The secret ingredient in a snake antivenom? Llamas.

a zombie worm, it is long and cylindrical with tentacles

Zombie worms have gone missing

By Laura Baisas

Screenshot of ROV video showing icefish nests on floor of Weddell Sea

The quest to find Shackleton’s ship uncovered an Antarctic mystery

Artist's recreation of ‘Epiatheracerium itjilik’ in its forested lake habitat, Devon Island, Early Miocene, 23 million years ago. The plants and animals shown, including a rodent, rabbit and the transitional seal ‘Puijila darwini,’ are all based on fossilized remains found at the site.

Rhinos once lived in Canada

By Laura Baisas

Two close up shots of two tube-nosed bat species

Six new bat species discovered in the Philippines

The blue marked Queen of a Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) colony is searching for a place to insert an egg.

Queen bees are violently ousted if worker bees smell weakness

By Laura Baisas

a dolphin blowing bubbles under water

Dolphins may be getting an Alzheimer’s-like disease due to this neurotoxin

By Margherita Bassi

a close up of leopard spots

Why do animals have spots and stripes?

By Laura Baisas

Northern right whale.Eubalaena glacialis.Courting group. Several males approach a female (on left). Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

Endangered North Atlantic right whales are making a slow comeback

By Margherita Bassi

a big cat with flamingo in its mouth dead

13 riveting images from the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards

By Popular Science Team