Wild Animals

Welcome to the wild, wild world of dual penises, delayed fertilization, mama python incubators and springtime "mating balls."

By Mark Mancini

Pallas's cats appear cantankerous, in part due to their flat faces and large, owl-like eyes with round pupils.

By Katie Carman

Porbeagles are related to great whites, but while they're also athletic killers, they're smaller and far less ferocious. And what's with the funny dog name?

By Mark Mancini

Looks can be deceiving. That's definitely true for the blue-ringed octopus. It's tiny, stunningly beautiful and looks harmless. Yet its venom could kill 26 men in minutes.

By Stephanie Parker

Native to East Asia, the Joro spider has adapted to life in the southern U.S. and, as far as we know, is a beneficial addition to the ecosystem.

By Talon Homer & Allison Troutner

The boxing kangaroo as a symbol of the Australian fighting spirit dates back to the 1890s, but what's the truth? Do kangaroos actually box?

By Jesslyn Shields

They love your lawn and, in 2021, they're everywhere. Here's what to do about armyworms and how to spot the little critters.

By Jesslyn Shields

If you're looking for the venomous timber rattler, the U.S. is the place to be, as these bad boys are found in at least 27 states.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists have found striking parallels between the babbling produced by greater sac-winged bat pups and the babbling baby sounds of human infants.

By Ahana Aurora Fernandez

The invasive spotted lanternfly is spreading across the Eastern U.S. Here's what you need to know about this voracious pest.

By Frank A. Hale

Decades before Discovery started its wildly successful Shark Week, Americans were transfixed by stories of shark-infested waters.

By Janet M. Davis

Spiders don't have wings, so technically can't fly. But some arachnids can soar through the air with the greatest of ease.

By Mark Mancini & Talon Homer

Leucistic squirrels are rare, but Brevard, North Carolina has a thriving population.

By Jesslyn Shields

Most of us think all bees live in colonies, or hives, but there are far more species that don't produce honey, don't sting and live mostly solitary lives underground.

By Jesslyn Shields

You read that right. Fruit bats are instrumental in pollinating hundreds of plants, including the agave, a key ingredient in tequila.

By Mark Mancini

With a little pig snout and the locomotion of a kangaroo, these tiny desert rodents hardly ever drink water and rarely urinate.

By Jesslyn Shields

Humpback whales can be as long as a city bus and weigh as much as two. They love to breach and water slap with their fins and tails, making them a perennial favorite for whale watchers.

By Katie Carman

The pistol shrimp is feared in the ocean for its ability to hit a prey with air bubbles that travel 82 feet per second, pop at 218 decibels and deliver 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit of heat.

By Katie Carman

It's a behavior synonymous with gorillas - beating the chest. But why do they do it? Researchers think they've figured out what the purpose is behind that pounding.

By Sharise Cunningham

Magpies are much-maligned as harbingers of doom, thieves of shiny objects and songbird eggs, but they're smart, monogamous for life and actually hold funerals for one another.

By Patty Rasmussen

Finches can live for five to 10 years and make great companion pets as long as they are given enough space to fly around.

By Laurie L. Dove

Often confused with the venomous coral snake, which advertises its toxicity through bright bands of color, the milk snake is harmless to humans.

By Mark Mancini & Talon Homer

And we mean really loud. Like up to 100 decibels loud. Get all the buzz on what's making these bug-eyed bugs return.

By John Cooley & Chris Simon

They look a lot like beavers and the two rodents have a lot in common. But muskrats are their own species with their own signature scent.

By Meg Sparwath

Badgers love to dig - one den, or "sett," in southern England is thought to cover a territory of over a square mile and have up to 100 entrances.

By Jesslyn Shields