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Hate Snakes? These 28 U.S. States Have the Most Copperheads
The eastern United States is prime copperhead territory, and in some areas these venomous snakes are far more common than…
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The Exact Ocean Spot Where Humpback Whales Give Birth
Just like us, humpback whales have their preferences. They are incredibly intelligent creatures, with brains that can weigh up to…
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How New Fossil Discoveries Just Rewrote the History of Land Life
We’ve all seen some version of the classic evolutionary diagram. A fish crawls out of a primordial swamp, sprouts legs,…
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Florida Scientists Broke Their Own Record Removing 4 Tons of Pythons
Over four tons of invasive Burmese pythons have been removed from Southwest Florida ecosystems during this breeding season. Here’s how…
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The ‘Flying Lemur’ That Neither Flies Nor Is a Lemur
With their large eyes and furry bodies, it’s surprising that one of the cutest and most skillful gliders is an…
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What Is a Gummivore? The Animal Diet You’ve Never Heard Of
There’s a lot more to diet classification than carnivores and herbivores. Have you heard of a gummivore? For example, you…
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Black Swan Dads Take the Day Shift — and Chicks Survive Better
In birds and waterfowl, it’s common for the female to incubate and care for the eggs while the males protect…
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This Great White Shark Documentary Shows What These Apex Predators Are Really Doing
A new documentary from cinematographer Andy Casagrande captures great white sharks at Guadalupe Island and South Africa's Seal Island, revealing…
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Look Inside the Czech Facility Breeding Crocodiles You’ll Never See in the Wild
A visit to the Crocodile Zoo Protivin in the Czech Republic reveals saltwater crocs, Cuban crocodiles, false gharials, and pied…
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Cold Stunning Can Haunt Sea Turtles Long After Rescue
Turtles cannot regulate their own body temperature. They rely on ocean temperatures to keep their bodies at a temperature where…
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A Volcano Finished This Cat-Sized Caribbean Rat But Humans Started It
The islands of the West Indies were once home to a group of rats of nightmarish proportions. These super-rats, some…
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The Animal Kingdom’s Biggest Snoozers
Sleep is essential for nearly all animals. These periods of rest help conserve energy, support brain function, and aid in…
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Why Only Female Mosquitoes Drink Blood — and What Males Eat
You may think of mosquitoes as simple little insects that give you annoying bites. However, they have a surprisingly fascinating…
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The Post-Hike Tick Check Most Families Don’t Do Carefully Enough
As soon as the weather gets nice, people head outside in droves. I’m always prone to ending up on a…
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Why the Scorpionfly Gives Corpses as Romantic Gifts
The scorpionfly (order Mecoptera) is one of nature’s most bizarre insects. Despite its intimidating name, the scorpionfly is completely harmless…
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Why This Katydid’s Stunning Beauty Is Actually a Survival Weapon
Beauty is often said to be in the eye of the beholder. And while that may be true in most…
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The Hidden Nutrition Problem Inside Pollinator Gardens
When people talk about helping bees, the advice is usually simple: plant more flowers. That advice is not wrong. Bees…
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Tourism Drove These Rare Seals into a Hidden Cave
Beneath the sun-soaked waves of the Mediterranean, one of the world’s rarest marine mammals is hiding in a place few…
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How One Ant Queen Clones Males of a Completely Different Species
The whole point of reproduction is that you produce more of your own species, right? Well, not exactly, and not…
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Why a 13-Foot Python Burst Trying to Eat an Alligator
Burmese pythons have proven to be formidable foes to large wildlife. Consequently, in habitats where the pythons live, there is…
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How Dung Beetles Keep Our Pastures From Suffocating
Dung beetles may not have the most glamorous name or lifestyle, but they are essential for the ecology of agricultural…
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Less Ice, Bigger Colonies: How Adélie Penguins Adapted to Survive
As climate change continues to alter Antarctic frozen landscapes, animals that live there have had to adapt. Those who are…
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The Locust Plague That Covered 198,000 Square Miles Then Vanished
Sometimes, what seems like an impending disaster can become an afterthought in the blink of an eye. Surprisingly, it’s often…
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The Most Elusive Wild Cats on Earth
Domestic cats are famous for their aloof or standoffish behavior, and they aren’t so different from their wild cousins. Plenty…
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How a Royal Visit Sparked a Feather Trend That Killed New Zealand’s Huia
Cultural appropriation isn’t just harmful to the communities that are affected — it can also cause lasting damage to native…
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117,000 Giraffes Left — and Most of the World Hasn’t Noticed
Every year, on June 21, the world celebrates the tallest animals on the planet by enjoying World Giraffe Day. This…
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He Built the World’s Smallest National Park and Refused to Sell It
When I was younger, I heard a fable about starfish that really stuck with me. If you haven’t heard it…
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Colonial History Predicts Wildlife Attitudes Better Than Economics, Study Says
When a mountain lion wanders into a suburban neighborhood, or wolves attack livestock, people’s reactions vary dramatically. Some communities advocate…
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The Molecular Science of Why Mosquitoes Single You Out in a Crowd
Are you one of those people who get covered in mosquito bites while your friend’s skin remains totally unblemished? Some…
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A Tapeworm Found in 1 in 3 Coyotes Is Now in the Pacific Northwest
Tapeworms infect thousands of companion animals in the United States each year. The culprit behind tapeworms is swallowing a flea…
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The 8-Millon-Ton Problem That’s Killing Albatrosses
A Blue Planet II segment shows researchers finding plastic bags, food packaging, and even a fatal toothpick inside albatross chicks,…
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What Is the Weird Foamy Bug Hiding in Your Garden?
We’ve all seen our fair share of strange traits and adaptations, whether in nature or online, but this might be…
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How Shy Octopuses Disappear
Recent footage captured by a diver in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, shows an octopus apparently vanishing into the sea floor.…
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Why a Python Hid 20 Eggs Beneath a Florida Sidewalk
Some movement beneath a concrete sidewalk in South Florida turned out to be a mother Burmese python and her 20…
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Animals With Superpowers That Sound Completely Fake
Nature is full of creatures that can do things that seem impossible, almost as if Mother Nature handed out superpowers.…
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A Bigger Possum Was Stealing Nest Boxes, So Researchers Shrank the Door by 1 Millimeter
For pygmy-possums, life on Australia’s Kangaroo Island was always quite nice. So nice that two different species of pygmy possum…
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Why the 24-Hour Tick Rule Won’t Save You from These Viruses
There are approximately 90 tick species in the U.S. alone, and many of them carry pathogens. While Lyme disease remains…
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The Coconut Crab Can Lift 60 Pounds and Live 60 Years
Can you imagine a crab that lives almost as long as a human? While it might sound unbelievable, some species…
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The 8 Most Dangerous Birds in North America
When you think about birds, you likely don’t consider them to be dangerous or aggressive creatures, aside from a few…
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Why Female Alligators Are Especially Dangerous Long After Nesting Season Ends
After surviving months of cooler temperatures, alligators become active again in spring and summer. This activity is not strictly limited…
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Why Snakebite Risk Is Surging in a Warming World
Around the world, temperatures are increasing. This has put a strain on many species that will have to adapt to…
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Hear a Mystery Bird? Merlin’s AI Can Name It Instantly
You’re walking in a natural area, and you see a little bird flitting around in the underbrush. You wonder what…
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Dogs Find Lanternfly Eggs at Twice the Rate of Experts
Spotted lanternflies plague the agricultural industry in 19 different states annually. The current prevention measures help slow the lanternflies but…
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Urban Heat Is Forcing Insects to Evolve in Years, Not Millennia
On a hot summer day, strolling down a city street with concrete in every direction can feel like walking into…
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The Frog So Transparent You Can See Its Organs
Nature is full of strange and unique traits, some of which seem almost like make-believe. One example is the glass…
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Creatures Found Only in Island Cave Systems
Islands are already famous for strange wildlife, but their cave systems take isolation to another level. Cut off from sunlight,…
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8 Undiscovered Moth Species Were Hiding in One for 200 Years
The notion of species may underpin almost every aspect of biology, yet scientists can’t agree on a single definition. Time…
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Shipwrecked Explorers Found It First, Then Humans Hunted It to Extinction
Cormorants are one of the world’s most impressive bird species. They can take to the air in seconds and have…
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These Creatures Have the Most Mesmerizing Eyes on Earth
We’ve all gazed at our significant other and marveled at the beauty of the human eye. But animal eyes may…
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When Wasps Lose Their Queen, a Secret Group Saves the Colony
For some species, war seems inevitable. When a community loses a powerful leader, it creates a power vacuum. This lack…