Mammals

Gorillas can live to be about 35 to 40 years old and are much gentler (and much sleepier) than you might think.

By Jesslyn Shields

The female emu may lay the eggs, but the male emu does all the caretaking. And that's just one fascinating thing we learned.

By Patty Rasmussen

They're the cutest and most curious masked mammals around. But they also have a reputation for being a nuisance. Here's everything you need to know about the raccoon.

By Meg Sparwath

Sea otters are adorable, back from the brink of extinction and will totally bite you.

By Jesslyn Shields

Move over Dracula. These fish, birds and bats really are the vampires of the animal world - and they do need to eat (or suck) blood to sustain life.

By Mark Mancini

Manatees are so gentle and sweet they'll break your heart, but in 2021, there have been more manatee deaths than in any year in previously recorded history. Why are these gentle giants dying in such unprecedented numbers?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

It turns out that bobcats do just fine if not actively hunted by humans.

By Jesslyn Shields

The wars between mink species and humans quietly rage worldwide.

By Jesslyn Shields

Though ol' Wile E. never did catch the Road Runner, coyotes are some of the most ingenious and adaptable animals on the planet.

By Tara Yarlagadda

These impressive and intimidating animals have an illustrious past that helped them wend their way through America and settle in the heartland of the South.

By Mark Mancini

These berserker weasels are the ultimate cold weather survivors - cagey, smart and omnivorous.

By Jesslyn Shields

Groundhogs don't actually make great weathermen, but they are pretty cool in every other respect.

By Jesslyn Shields

Kinkajous, or honey bears, are generally docile creatures, but they definitely don't mix well with humans.

By Jesslyn Shields

Jackals, formidable members of the canine family, are often portrayed in traditional world folklore as wily tricksters, up to no good. They are actually brilliant survivalists.

By Tara Yarlagadda

These adorable marsupials look as sweet as their name. But what, exactly, are sugar gliders?

By Jamie Allen

Those red butts on baboons do serve a purpose, sort of, but it's probably not quite what you think.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Orphaned Bornean orangutans need all the help they can get - the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation steps in to teach them the art of survival.

By Jesslyn Shields

It's the job of the huge grizzly bears at Montana's Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center to test the everything from coolers and trash cans to food storage containers.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Clearing land with goats rather than machinery is eco-friendly, effective and adorable.

By Jesslyn Shields

Fisher cats aren't actually cats, but cat-sized members of the weasel family, and their favorite snack is - yikes - the porcupine.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Arguably the most charming rodent in the world, the capybara is also the largest.

By Jesslyn Shields

It is the largest animal ever to exist on the planet.

By Tara Yarlagadda

Despite being known as the "lesser panda," the red panda is so totally cute, we simply can't use that moniker. No way. Not now. Not ever.

By John Perritano

The ocelot may look like a slightly wilder version of a domesticated tabby cat, but they are three times the size of house cats, much fiercer and, though abundant in some areas, still endangered.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

These adorable little rodents are popular as pets, but they require some special care.

By Jesslyn Shields