Wildlife(Page 4)

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

Latest in Wildlife

a squirrel holding an acorn while it sits on a logCREDIT: Sandra Standbridge via Getty Images

Rodents’ secret weapon? Thumbnails.

By Laura Baisas

Clay sculpture of two frogs from Caral civilization

An ancient frog statue’s secret message

A black-and-white tegu lizard at Iguazu Falls, the waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border between Brazil and Argentina.

Summer 2025’s hottest stars were escaped lizards

By Margherita Bassi

a clear squid like creature dotted with small orange circles

9 other worldly images of ‘The Radiant Sea’

By Popular Science Team

Mother and child orangutan in tree nest

Endangered Species

Baby orangutans spy on mom to build cozy treehouse nests

a shark tooth with jagged edges on a black background

Sharks may be losing their bite

By Lauren Leffer

a curled yellow deep sea worm

Deep sea worm wears Rembrandt’s favorite toxic color

By Laura Baisas

A super rare, blue lobster escapes the dinner plate

By Laura Baisas

Two images of Bootanomyia dorsalis with 1 mm size comparison

Invasive parasitic wasp spotted in the US for the first time

an aerial view of a humpback whale spinning in a circle with nets made out of bubbles

Humpbacks are the only whales that can feed with bubble nets

By Laura Baisas

a scallop with a dent in its top that makes it look like a heart

A heart-shaped scallop turned up off the Massachusetts coast

By Laura Baisas

close up of Cuban brown anole

These New Orleans lizards are full of lead

Cooked shrimp on plate with fork and cilantro

Walmart’s ‘radioactive shrimp’ recall isn’t a reason to fear irradiated food

By Andrew Paul, Laura Baisas

close up of a spectral bat. it has large ears, small teeth, and a pointy nose

World’s largest carnivorous bats are big softies

By Laura Baisas

a person wearing gloves holds a large gelatinous greenish blob

‘Cursed gummybear’ spotted in Lake Huron

By Laura Baisas

a lake trout looking up from the water

Meet Mary Catherine, the Great Lakes’ oldest-known trout

By Laura Baisas

a bird with long wings and white and black plumage gliding over the oceanCREDIT: Yusuke Goto

These seabirds poop on the fly (literally)

By Lauren Leffer

two small brown rodents called prairie voles

Love hormone could be key to friendship

By Margherita Bassi

orca chomps on a seal while breeching the water

16 breathtaking images from the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year contest

By Popular Science Team

three ants working together

Ants are better at teamwork than humans

By Margherita Bassi

Asian small-clawed otter swimming in water

Splash the otter is training for underwater search-and-rescue

Birds going to a smart bird feeder camera

Make birdwatching easy and save $50 with this Onlyfly smart bird feeder camera from Amazon

By Heather Kuldell-Ware

A nestling bald eagle in Arizona.

Bald eagles stun scientists with bizarre migration pattern

By Margherita Bassi

two saigas spar on dirt

Endangered Species

10 award-winning images documenting wildlife’s will to survive

By Popular Science Team

a river otter with brown fur sits in water with a waterfall behind it

Otter poop reveals they may be ecosystem engineers

By Laura Baisas

a robot shaped like an antelope

A furry antelope robot is keeping tabs on its organic cousins

By Mack DeGeurin

a a small bird with brown and white feather and a long skinny beak sits on a tree

Scientists find male bird that laid an egg

By Laura Baisas

a dolphin rides on the bow wave in front of a humpback whale

Dolphin follows a whale all the way to the seafloor

By Laura Baisas

a raccoon with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head

Young raccoon saved from a sticky situation

By Margherita Bassi

Wild pig walking in grass

Wild pigs’ guts are turning blue in California

a long, cylindrical blue-green mollusck sits on a rock under the ocean

Unsuspecting sea creature has Earth’s hardest teeth

By Margherita Bassi

a close up of a groundhog on the grass

Three orphaned groundhogs released back into the wild

By Margherita Bassi

an injured owl with wide eyes

Throwing food out of your car can kill owls

By Margherita Bassi

Norselaspis illustration

A googly-eyed fish could upend evolutionary history

a small, yellow snail with dark eyes

Apple snails can regrow their eyeballs

By Laura Baisas

Robot fiddler crab waving claw at actual male fiddler crab on beach

‘Wavy Dave’ is a beefy-armed robot crab on a mating mission

Australian major skink

Australian lizard mutated to resist snake venom

a man kneels down by a tranquilized rhino and applies a substance to its horn

Endangered Species

How to stop rhino poaching: make their horns radioactive

By Margherita Bassi

Two researchers excavating dig site in Norwegian cave, seen from above

Remote Norwegian cave is an ice age animal jackpot

Black tarantula with pixelated rectangle over back thorax

These tarantulas’ genitals are so long, it required a new genus

a hammerhead shark swimming in blue water

Hammerhead sharks eat other sharks—and it’s worth the risk

By Margherita Bassi

a purple crab stands on green moss in thailand

Rare purple crabs spotted in Thailand

By Margherita Bassi

Caption: In the Jazan region, mangrove trees are vital coastal habitats that provide a rich food environment for migratory flamingos. These birds feed on algae and small invertebrates like crustaceans and plankton in the shallow waters. The mangroves offer a safe refuge, shielding them from disturbances and predators—making them an ideal rest stop during migration and a key contributor to biodiversity along Saudi Arabia’s coastlines.

Endangered Species

14 beautiful wildlife images from the 2025 Mangrove Photography Awards

By Popular Science Team

a painting with cool pastel colors and with visible snake scales

This painting uses leather from an invasive Burmese python

By Margherita Bassi

Close up of three wasps

Radioactive wasp nest found at former nuclear weapons site

Loch Ness monster sculpture in lake with googly eyes

The Loch Ness Monster’s body is a ‘zoological impossibility’

a scientist holds a large, reddish-purple sea star with 24 legs

Endangered Species

Meet the 24-armed sea star, a kelp forest’s bodyguard

By Laura Baisas

Marsh Rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus. Dark brown, small-footed rabbit found in wetlands from SE Virginia to Florida. Green Cay Wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida.

Robot bunnies deployed in Florida to fight invasive pythons

By Margherita Bassi

woman holding shark upside down next to a boat

How to operate on a shark in 10 minutes or less

By Margherita Bassi

birds everywhere near the road

Riding a bike through the world’s largest albatross colony

By Margherita Bassi

a whale's tail as it goes into the water

Decoding the fingerprint of a humpback whale

By Avery Schluyer Nunn

several fireflies blinking at once in a forest

Why fireflies are everywhere this summer

By Laura Baisas

a beaver swimming in water. its eyes, nose, ears, and back are exposed

Beavers put to work saving two Utah rivers

By Margherita Bassi

a penguin looks directly at the camera. it has black and white feathers with some red around the eyes

The clever way Magellanic penguins ride—and adjust to—ocean currents

By Laura Baisas

a person holds a turtle with piercing eyes

Endangered Species

World’s largest known turtle nesting site found in the Amazon

By Laura Baisas

a larger shark and smaller one photographed from below near the surface

17 fascinating images from the 2025 Shark Photographer of the Year awards

By Popular Science Team

A harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) on the beach during the summer premoult stage.

When wily sea lions and determined wildlife officials sparred in Seattle

The acoustic parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea and its host cricket.

This parasitic fly gives birth inside of crickets

By Laura Baisas

several small fish with colorful organa and blue scales

Orange male guppies are hornier

By Laura Baisas

plastic coyotes on robots

US Army deploys plastic coyotes attached to mini four-wheelers

By Mack DeGeurin

a team of greenland sled dog puppies with white fur pulls a sled

Oldest known dog breed reveals hidden human history

By Lauren Leffer

a yellow crab on a beach

Endangered Species

Australia’s ghost crabs decapitate baby sea turtles

By Laura Baisas

Images of prehistoric multitool made from cave lion bone

Neanderthals made a ‘Swiss Army knife’ from cave lion bone

A pseudoscorpion from the genus Nipponogarypus in South Korea.

New pseudoscorpions with dragon-like jaws discovered in a South Korea cave

By Laura Baisas