Scales of ReferenceArticle 03.11.2021Collected at the tail end of British Columbia’s “silver fever,” hundred-year-old salmon scales are now helping conservation scientists reconstruct and better manage the populations of one of Canada’s most important fish.
A New HopePhoto Essay 01.27.2021Discovered a mere four years ago, the Skywalker gibbon quickly landed on the list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates. While its status remains precarious, the species is inspiring a newfound effort to protect and restore the forests of China’s Gaoligong Mountains.
The Other COVID NursesPhoto Essay 01.01.2021Caring for sick and injured wildlife has always been challenging, but during the pandemic, for many rehabilitators, it has become a grueling, 24/7 labor of love.
Convenient ConveyanceSpotlight 12.24.2020For a jellyfish, there are few hitchhikers more harmful than this juvenile brown paper nautilus, and for the nautilus, few rides could be more handy.
Mother LoadSpotlight 12.11.2020Multitasking bat moms carry their nursing pups underwing all while navigating a growing array of threats in the Australian forests they call home.
Billfish BountySpotlight 11.25.2020A striped marlin slices through a shoal of baitfish, a beautiful reminder of the struggle between predator and prey—as well as the fragility and importance of healthy ecosystems.
Northern Lights from the DeepSpotlight 10.28.2020What could easily be an atmospheric apparition is in fact a formidable predator, and a critical member of its strange, open-ocean ecosystem
The Gibbon’s TailArticle 10.14.2020For the world’s rarest ape, survival may depend on stories passed down for centuries among the people of its Chinese island home.
A Novel DemiseSpotlight 09.22.2020Although we’ve marveled over carnivorous plants for centuries, the plants’ penchant for vertebrate flesh has been largely overlooked.
Raising Nature on Florida RanchlandsArticle 08.11.2020“Rancher vs Environmentalist” has been a longstanding trope. But in the Sunshine State, ranching just may be the last, best hope for ecological salvation.
Pandemics of Our Own MakingOpinion 07.21.2020While it’s critical that we devote our scientific ingenuity to beating back the current pandemic, we must also address our broken relationship with nature in a concerted effort to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
Wanted AliveSpotlight 07.14.2020For the first time in decades, Icelandic whalers have stopped hunting fin whales, thanks in part to a growing appreciation for the value these mammals bring to both marine and human communities.
The Big Picture 2020Photo Gallery 05.05.2020From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet’s most amazing species and places.
Farming Insects to Save LemursArticle 03.19.2020A reimagined approach to an age-old practice is helping to fight malnutrition in Madagascar—and may have the added benefit of protecting the island nation’s imperiled primates and the forests they call home.
Saving Mexico’s Lost WorldArticle 02.18.2020Microbes have lived in Cuatro Ciénegas for 500 million years. They’ve survived countless cataclysms and extinctions. But can they survive us?
Records of ChangeVideo 01.17.2020Thanks to foresight and meticulous records collected nearly a century ago, scientists are reconstructing a picture of some of Mexico’s most important ecosystems before they were transformed.
Race Against the Biological ClockSpotlight 12.24.2019It turns out some contests between predators and their prey are more genetically determined than others.
Standing GuardPhoto Essay 12.24.2019The population of this critically endangered bird has stabilized thanks to the conservationists who look after them, but what happens if the caretakers leave?
Mexico City and its Sacred SalamandersVideo 12.10.2019Important symbols of both Mexican culture and ecosystem health, axolotls are on the brink of extinction in the wild, but a return to ancient practices offers hope for their future.
The Scent of WaterSpotlight 12.10.2019Most mammals can’t smell underwater, but Eurasian otters may have a way of sniffing out prey even while swimming.
