Wildlife(Page 21)

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

Latest in Wildlife

A photo of a humpback whale and her calf.

Boat noise is driving humpback whale moms into deep, dangerous water

By Marina Wang / Hakai Magazine

a small brown salamander on a log

Skydiving salamanders have mastered falling with style

By Kate Baggaley

a large mass of jumping worms in a bucket is compared to a person's hand size

The jumping worm invasion may be less worrisome than it sounds

Moose in Main are in danger.

Climate change-emboldened ticks are killing off moose in Maine

By Paul Richards / Field & Stream

remora fish attached to swimming manta ray

This amphibious drone hitchhikes like a suckerfish

By Charlotte Hu

A photo of a salmon hybrid.

This wild salmon hybrid is raising concerns in Canada

By Kris Millgate/Field & Stream

Two adults and a child in a rowboat on a calm lake at sunset. The man at the bow is paddling, the man at the back is holding a fishing rod, and the child is sitting between them.

A casual angler’s guide to taking kids fishing for the first time

By Jean Levasseur

The Iron Curtain’s border zone has grown into a wild, ecological haven

The Iron Curtain’s border zone has grown into a wild, ecological haven

By Sarah Baxter

Small brown-black migratory bat help in a person's hand with head facing camera

This itty bitty bat flew across two continents at record speed

A turtle crossing a road.

What to do if you find a turtle in the road

By Natalie Wallington

People standing on a bridge at sunset while bats fly over.

Climate change could introduce humans to thousands of new viruses

By Philip Kiefer

Caribbean flamingo chick tucked into the pink feathers on the back of its parent

Before they grow into splendor, flamingos are just awkward floofs

By Claudio Contreras Koob and Martha A. Salazar

robotic buoy floating in ocean

Whale-monitoring robots are oceanic eavesdroppers with a mission

By Charlotte Hu

A photo of perch on a fish smoker being smoked.

Everything you need to smoke fish

By Jack Hennessy / Field & Stream

two spiders entangled together mating

These male spiders fling into the air to escape post-coital cannibalism

By Lauren J. Young

Two crows attacking a feeding bald eagle along the water

Crows and ravens flexed smarts and strength for world dominance

fluorescent view of an archerfish's skeleton and anatomy

An archerfish family tree is the best shot yet at the evolution of sniper fish

On the left, multicolor eggs form a circle. On the right, a cuckoo finch is with two host chicks.

Thanks to a matriarchal gene, this bird can trick others into caring for its eggs

Eight brightly colored birds from a museum specimens collection laid out on their backs on white

Songbirds near the equator really are hotter, color-wise

By Kate Baggaley

Two mid-sized brown owls sitting on a branch in daylight with horses, rhinos, and soaring birds in the background in an illustration

Meet the ancient owl that embraced daylight

By Purbita Saha

How vampire bats evolved to get the most out of their bloody diets

By Kate Baggaley

a yellow wheeled robot approaches a colony of penguins in the snow

The march of the penguins has a new star: an autonomous robot

By Lauren J. Young

Small brilliant colored reef fish with a pink face, yellow fins, and purple tail on a black background

This rainbow reef fish is just as magical as it looks

By Purbita Saha

Map of vulnerable species in the United States.

Endangered Species

Here’s where biodiversity is disappearing the quickest in the US

By Sara Kiley Watson

An image of a spider web to illustrate a story about a South American species of social spiders.

These spiders go off vibes to hunt in packs

By Maggie Galloway

A galloping horse.

Ancient sea creatures pioneered the gallop

By Kate Baggaley

A black bear, which people can struggle to distinguish from other bears.

Burglar bear Hank the Tank might be even tougher to catch. Here’s why.

Northern fulmar seabird sitting on a grassy hill with small pink flowers

Can birds smell? This ornithologist is debunking a long-standing myth.

By Danielle J. Whittaker

birds flying across the moon at night

A moon-watching robot can demystify what migrating birds do at night

By Charlotte Hu

A black bear in the woods.

A 500-pound black bear keeps breaking into California homes. What’s next?

a bald eagle perched on a branch

Eagles face another major threat in the US: lead poisoning

By Kate Baggaley

Why young orphans were once used as human refrigerators

Why young orphans were once used as human refrigerators

By Popular Science Team

A white polar bear standing on snow in a zoo with blue bars in the background.

Secrets from zoo polar bears could help conservation efforts in the wild

By Maggie Galloway

a gray wolf looks over its shoulder in the snow

Endangered Species

Snowy weather could determine life or death for Wisconsin’s poached gray wolves

By Kate Baggaley

Orca whale pod in a line in the ocean while hunting

Even blue whales aren’t safe from orcas

By Purbita Saha

Red and white heart balloons released into blue sky which can become hazardous.

Do something sweet for Earth—ditch balloons this Valentine’s Day

By Maggie Galloway

Feathered Caudipteryx dinosaurs drinking from a sandy river among palm trees before the asteroid hit

June was probably a terrible month to be a dinosaur. Here’s how we know.

By Michael J. Benton / The Conversation

a large, dark globe-shaped fish with a striking rod on the crown of its head. the bulb at the tip of the rod glows a cobalt blue

This anglerfish has mastered a trick to light up the depths of the Pacific Ocean

By Lauren J. Young

a brown bat in flight

The secret to these bats’ hunting prowess is deep within their ears

By Kate Baggaley

Light brown tarantula with white discharge around mouth being attacked by a nematode worm on a bacteria backsplash

What do you call a tiny tarantula killer? Jeff Daniels.

By Purbita Saha

a humpback whale breaching the surface of the water with its mouth open

Baleen whales have an ‘oral plug’ to help them guzzle down food without choking

By Kate Baggaley

Icefish nests encircled in stones on the ocean floor

Icefish build bizarre undersea nests—and that’s just the beginning

viper illustration

This noxious island is so full of snakes, people can’t even visit

By Popular Science Team

Scientists discovered new shark species with chainsaw-like noses

By Kate Baggaley

Female house sparrow and brown-headed cowbird, both potential vectors for bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses, feeding on birdseed on the ground

These bird species are most likely to contaminate our fruits and veggies

Nutrient-rich fish are thriving in a coral graveyard off the coast of Africa

Nutrient-rich fish are thriving in a coral graveyard off the coast of Africa

By Sara Kiley Watson

a woman in a face mask and blue protective gloves holds up a black collection apparatus in the air in a densely forested environment. a sloth hangs from a tree nearby

Endangered Species

Airborne animal DNA could help biologists track endangered species

By Philip Kiefer

an illustration of a marine reptile

These ancient marine reptiles got very big, very fast

By Kate Baggaley

One of the best-preserved dinosaur embryos ever found.

This fossilized dinosaur embryo is curled up just like a baby bird

By Kate Baggaley

More skunks can do handstands than we thought

Endangered Species

More skunks can do handstands than we thought

By Kate Baggaley

robot fish that mimics mosquitofish predator

Need to fight invasive fish? Just introduce a scary robot

By Charlotte Hu

a color illustration of a brown and white bird in a lush forest

This 120-million-year-old bird could stick out its tongue

By Kate Baggaley

Northern pike underwater

Fish can bounce back quickly from mercury pollution

By Kate Baggaley

The salmon of 2100 will have new habitat: the remains of melted glaciers

The salmon of 2100 will have new habitat: the remains of melted glaciers

By Kate Baggaley

Fish sounds tell us about underwater reefs—but we need better tech to really listen

By Charlotte Hu

Wildlife officials are taking radical steps to save Florida’s starving manatees

Wildlife officials are taking radical steps to save Florida’s starving manatees

Brown and white extinct Haast's eagle with talons sunk into a furry carcass

This 30-pound eagle would take down 400-pound prey and dig through their organs

By Margo Milanowski

bird bot stanford

This bird-legged quadcopter can easily perch in the treetops

By Margo Milanowski

Munu the black rhino in his enclosure

Endangered Species

This blind rhino’s infrared security system could help stop poachers

By Rachael Zisk

Greater roadrunner racing across a street in the desert

Las Vegas bird can’t remember how it ended up in Maine

By Margo Milanowski

Crow over a green art illustration background

Even more proof that crows are terrifyingly smart

By Popular Science Team

female zebra finch inspects male

When female finches fail to find mates, they dump their eggs and move on

By Margo Milanowski

Biologists vastly underestimated how much whales eat and poop

Biologists vastly underestimated how much whales eat and poop

By Philip Kiefer

Wild deer are giving each other COVID—a lot

Wild deer are giving each other COVID—a lot