Queen of CooperationSpotlight 11.13.2023Meerkats are famous for their teamwork, but their communal behavior is enforced by a matriarch with an iron fist.
Breakfast with a “Garbage Bin”Spotlight 12.02.2021Socotra’s gregarious Egyptian vultures are a bright spot in an otherwise sobering global story.
Single MomSpotlight 11.24.2021In a delicate ritual that might last only a few minutes, this female squid demonstrates remarkable self-sufficiency.
Water Makes a Hive ThriveSpotlight 11.04.2021Just like us, honeybees can die if they get too hot. To cool off, they’ve devised their own kind of air conditioning, ferrying water home and then fanning it with their wings.
The Tuna HerdersPhoto Essay 11.06.2018Climate change has forced these Galápagos sea lions to turn to a new food source. Since they can’t outswim their prey, they use wits and teamwork instead.
Dine and DashSpotlight 06.12.2018For American pikas, the rush to store enough food for winter is becoming more hazardous—and climate change isn’t the only culprit.
Lens of Time: Huddle MastersVideo 04.24.2018Emperor penguins just may be the best huddlers on Earth—and scientists are finally revealing the secrets to their success.
Mystic MinipizzaSpotlight 04.24.2018This might be your only chance to meet the best-named fish in the sea.
Head over HeelsSpotlight 02.13.2018To woo a potential mate, a male humpback whale pulls out some surprisingly smooth—and tender—moves.
Beach CrashersSpotlight 02.06.2018Risking it all, some orcas have taken their hunt onto the shore, and their strategy is catching on.
Inconspicuous BattlegroundPhoto Essay 05.02.2017Off the coast of South Australia, an unremarkable setting conceals one of the ocean’s most spectacular events—a mating spree for the world’s largest cuttlefish.
Lens of Time: How Hummingbirds HoverVideo 10.18.2016Armed with the latest technology, scientists are beginning to unlock the secrets of one of nature’s most acrobatic flyers.
Lens of Time: Spider SeductionVideo 09.13.2016For these jumping spiders, stayin’ alive requires all the right dance moves—and the perfect soundtrack, too.
Predator in TrainingSpotlight 09.06.2016Feathered foes practice one of nature’s most routine but perilous interactions.
Lens of Time: Bat BalletVideo 08.02.2016Hundreds of thousands of bats emerge from a hole in the ground, and scientists with high-speed video cameras are there to make sense of the overwhelming spectacle.
Red VelvetSpotlight 06.28.2016While shedding velvet is a common annual occurrence among bull moose, photographers aren’t often on hand to document the graphic details.
Frog Leg FeastSpotlight 06.21.2016With native fish populations in decline, resourceful European otters have turned their attention to frogs and toads, a food source that presents its own challenges.
Lens of Time: Corals in MotionVideo 06.18.2016Corals occupy their own time dimension, but if given enough time, they reveal a surprising array of behaviors that give them an edge deep below the ocean’s surface.
Nature’s LumberjacksSpotlight 04.26.2016Tree-felling is dangerous business, so naturally a mother shows her young kit how it’s done.
Lens of Time: Bumper BeesVideo 04.26.2016See how scientists use high-speed videography to investigate—and learn from—the clumsy flight of the bumblebee.