Eye SpySpotlight 10.28.2021While this highly adapted fish peers out on its prey- and predator-rich surroundings, shapeshifting, pigmented cells enable it to all but disappear into its environment.
Hanging with DadSpotlight 10.22.2021A male African jacana has his feathers full while navigating Botswana’s rich but treacherous wetlands.
Starling-Studded SkiesPhoto Essay 07.13.2021A modern approach to a 19th-century photography technique celebrates both the art and science behind one of the planet’s most mesmerizing spectacles.
The Big Picture 2021Photo Gallery 05.27.2021From 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.
Are You My Mother?Spotlight 03.29.2021Before a timber rattlesnake mom leaves her babies to fend for themselves, she passes on an important piece of information: her scent.
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.
Lens on LifePhoto Gallery 12.04.2020While 2020 has thrown an endless string of challenges at many of us, nature hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s just as impressive and inspiring—and in many cases, just as imperiled as ever.
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
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.
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?
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.
Layers of LifeSpotlight 11.12.2019On a crowded coral reef, species often make their homes on top of one another (literally), living lives that are tightly intertwined both biologically and evolutionarily.
Beguiling IntruderSpotlight 10.30.2019Lionfish are hungry, long-lived, and extremely fertile invaders in their new-found Atlantic home.
Snake FakeSpotlight 10.15.2019For a plump caterpillar with no defensive body parts, masquerading as a deadly viper is an effective adaptation for survival in the Peruvian Amazon.
