Red snapper chromolithograph 1898

Fish Are Smarter Than You Think

Fish intelligence? Yes, many studies have documented the ability of fish to learn from their environment. Fish exposed to a more complicated environment have an edge in learning.
Bobcat kittens

Fighting Wildlife Crime With Forensic Genetics

How can law enforcement officials help save endangered animals from poachers? Techniques of forensic genetics used in human crime scene analysis are entering the fray.
Bengal tiger

How War Affects Wildlife

A multi-decade study of wildlife in Africa found that armed conflict—even infrequent, low-level conflict—was enough to cause declines in a wide range of wildlife populations.
Crown-of-thorns starfish crown of thorns

When Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Attack

Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef is facing a threat from a massive outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish.
Sika stag deer staring at camera

The Surprising Frequency of Interspecies Mating

Sometimes different but related species can reproduce. When two different species successfully mate, the resulting offspring is called a hybrid.
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Getting to Know Pterosaurs

Everyone loves dinosaurs. Perhaps less well-known are their cousins, the pterosaurs. Pterosaurs could fly, and were closely related ...
Take

Restoring the Prehistoric Horse

It’s the National Day of the Horse! Do You Know Where the Real Wild Horses Live?
Chimpanzee

The Complexity of Animal Communication

Alarm calls truly display the complexity of animal communication. Chimps tailor their warning communications based on the knowledge level of the recipient.
Vaquita

Why Scientists Couldn’t Save the Vaquita, the “Panda of the Sea”

It might be the end of the line for the vaquita, the world’s rarest marine mammal. A dramatic last-ditch attempt to capture one has failed.
Common thresher shark

Why It’s So Difficult to Save Sharks

Will a ban on shark fins help shark populations? Since sharks are slow-growing and long-lived, once shark stocks are depleted, they take a while to rebound.