Animals
Aurochs
The aurochs were a species of wild bovines that once roamed a vast swath of territory throughout Europe, Asia, and…
Animals
Animals
Harbor Porpoise
A porpoise can swim as fast as 34 mph! There are seven species of porpoise and they are often mistaken for…
Animals
Dugong
Sailors once confused these gentle ocean grazers for mythological sirens, and their closest living relative walks on land with four…
Animals
Jackal
These wily canines run at 40 mph, mate for life, and hold family conversations in a private language no other…
Animals
Tuatara
Neither lizard nor dinosaur, New Zealand's rarest reptile has outlasted the creatures that once ruled the earth alongside it, and…
Animals
Giraffe
The tallest land animal alive shares more in common with a small, secretive forest-dweller than with any creature you might…
Animals
Elephant Seal
Weighing as much as a rhinoceros and capable of diving into ocean depths for months at a time, these massive…
Animals
Siberian Tiger
One of the most powerful predators on Earth, this colossal big cat has clawed its way back from the brink…
Animals
Crab-Eating Macaque
Found raiding tourist snacks, performing in local mythology, and serving as laboratory subjects, this clever Southeast Asian primate occupies a…
Animals
Bengal Tiger
Regal, endangered, and capable of taking down a rhinoceros, these massive cats cling to survival across four countries while poachers,…
Animals
Elephant Shrew
Despite the name, this tiny African mammal claims elephants and aardvarks as its closest relatives, not shrews. Its surprising biology,…
Animals
Malayan Tiger
Critically endangered and vanishingly rare, this Southeast Asian big cat carries a name that translates to "Uncle Stripes" and hides…
Animals
Donkey
Stubborn, slow, and simple are words people reach for when describing donkeys, but every one of those assumptions turns out…
Animals
Leopard Seal
Lurking beneath Antarctic ice, this apex predator has mastered one of Earth's most punishing environments with a skull shaped more…
Animals
White-Faced Capuchin
Living in tight-knit troops and capable of reaching speeds that would surprise most predators, these small but resourceful Central and…
Animals
Wallaby
These compact marsupials share an ancient lineage with kangaroos, yet feral predators and competing herbivores have pushed multiple species to…
Animals
Mountain Gorilla
Sharing 98.4% of our DNA and capable of learning sign language, the gentle giants of Africa's cloud forests face a…
Animals
Flying Squirrel
These tiny nocturnal gliders have been perfecting their aerial tricks for tens of millions of years, and some of what…
Animals
Opossum
North America's only marsupial has survived for over 65 million years by mastering tricks that seem almost too strange to…
Animals
Antelope
Ninety-one species hide beneath a single name, and the creature most people picture as a typical antelope may not even…
Animals
Bandicoot
With its bizarre mix of features borrowed from rodents, rabbits, and opossums, this quirky Australian marsupial defies easy categorization, and…
Animals
Arctic Fox
Surviving at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit is just the beginning for one of the planet's most cunningly adapted predators. What…
Animals
Pika
Tucked into rocky cliffs across North America and Asia, this tailless little mammal faces a threat that no predator poses:…
Animals
Quoll
Once roaming nearly all of Australia, these spotted carnivorous marsupials now cling to survival at the edges of a continent…
Animals
Human
Humans are the only surviving species of the genus Homo. Humans are in a class by themselves. We’re the only…
Animals
Mongoose
Bold enough to take on a cobra and clever enough to crack open eggs by hurling them at rocks, this…
Animals
Fin Whale
Hunted to the edge of extinction yet fast enough to outrun almost anything in the sea, this ocean giant carries…
Animals
Bactrian Camel
The double-humped, wild Bactrian camel is one of the least-studied animals in the world and in danger of extinction! Double-humped camels…
Animals
Scimitar-horned Oryx
The scimitar-horned oryx is thought to be the animal that inspired ancient unicorn myths The scimitar-horned oryx is also known…
Père David’s Deer
“A Pere David’s deer has webbing between its toes and is an excellent swimmer” Pere David’s deer live in large…
Animals
Sumatran Tiger
Fewer than 400 of these magnificent striped cats survive on a single Indonesian island, and the forces closing in on…
Animals
Badger
Few animals will charge a bear, fight off a pack of dogs, or get drunk on rotting fruit, yet this…
Animals
Sloth
These leaf-munching tree dwellers carry entire ecosystems in their fur, eat plants that can suffocate their predators, and share an…
Animals
Pheasant
These birds can burst from cover at 50 miles per hour yet rarely bother to fly more than 600 feet.…
Animals
Indochinese Tiger
Fewer than 350 of these secretive big cats survive in the wild, yet their striped coats make them nearly invisible…
Animals
Wombat
Australia's most heavily armored vegetarian carries a secret weapon on its backside and produces something no other animal on Earth…
Animals
Deer
Few animals have conquered as many ecosystems, inspired as many mythologies, and sparked as many evolutionary surprises as the family…
Animals
Spectacled Bear
5 Facts • This bear is also called the Andean bear because it lives near the Andes mountains in South…
Animals
Moose
Standing six feet at the shoulder and capable of outrunning most threats, North America's largest deer hides surprising secrets behind…
Animals
Pygmy marmoset
Weighing about as much as a stick of butter, the world's tiniest monkey drills holes in tree bark with its…
Animals
Seal
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, these flippered carnivores now thrive across every continent on Earth, hiding surprising secrets…
Animals
Buffalo
It looks like a cow, lives in a herd, and grazes on grass, yet this massive African bovine has never…
Animals
Bat
From singing to attract mates to catching newborns while hanging upside down, bats lead stranger lives than most people realize.…
Animals
Otter
Giant otters have 22 distinct vocalizations and hold hands while they rest, but those charming habits hide a surprisingly complex…
Animals
Neanderthal
They buried their dead, crafted sophisticated tools, and may have spoken a complex language, yet these ancient relatives of ours…
Animals
Monkey
From tiny primates that weigh less than a deck of cards to massive species tipping the scales at over 100…
Animals
Arctic Wolf
Surviving months without food, hunting prey ten times their size, and thriving where temperatures plunge far below zero, these wolves…
Animals
Arctic Hare
It can outrun most predators, huddle in groups of hundreds to survive brutal winters, and hop on two legs like…
Animals
Llama
Gentle enough to serve as therapy animals in hospitals yet capable of stomping coyotes to death, these ancient Andean pack…
Animals
Pademelon
This small Australian marsupial warns an entire forest of danger by thumping the ground, yet its own survival hangs by…