Wild Animals

Whether they crawl, fly, swim, slither, walk, run or pounce, wild animals rely on their instincts. Read about all kinds of wild animals, mammals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians.

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It's like the movie "Groundhog Day" every April, but with hibernation, a smaller rodent and way more hormones.

By Jesslyn Shields

Spiders not only eat more meat than humans every year, they also spend a lot of time getting eaten themselves.

By Jesslyn Shields

Rhino herds defecate in giant, shared dung piles called midden, then they stick their noses in the stuff. Here's why.

By Jesslyn Shields

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It's not easy being a starfish larva. Fortunately, the tiny creatures have an efficient way to get food and swim away.

By Alia Hoyt

It sounds crazy, but it's happened before, and it'll probably happen again.

By Joe McCormick

The feral pig population in the U.S. is a growing issue in nearly 40 states. The USDA hopes to wipe out the billion-dollar problem within a decade.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

New fossil analysis details a microscopic organism from 540 million years ago that just might be a precursor to every vertebrate on the planet.

By Christopher Hassiotis

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Shark shocker! This 'virgin birth' is the first example of a shark switching from sexual to asexual reproduction.

By Jesslyn Shields

House cats seem to love chasing laser pointers. But what about their larger, wilder cousins?

By Laurie L. Dove

If you look outside your window right now, you'll probably see one running up a tree or checking you out. How did the squirrel get so commonplace?

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Ring-tailed lemurs - perhaps the most iconic species on the tropical island of Madagascar - are in significant decline due to habitat loss, hunting and illegal capture.

By Patrick J. Kiger

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Zookeepers in Europe feed their elephants surplus holiday foliage, giving the animals a treat they both eat and play with.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Turns out that strange sound may be minke whales getting vocal in the deep ocean.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Turns out the reboot of 'Planet of the Apes' got one thing right - it's the brains monkeys lack, not the anatomy.

By Jesslyn Shields

Scientists have discovered for the first time that animals pollinate flowers in the ocean.

By Alia Hoyt

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It turns out that one of the world's most enchanting animals has even stronger superpowers than we previously knew. Surprise!

By Jesslyn Shields

Yes, these nocturnal mammals can fly faster than our most beloved speedy birds. And they beat the record by a long shot.

By Yves Jeffcoat

In the past decade, several two-headed shark fetuses have been discovered. Is there something going on in the oceans we should know about?

By Jesslyn Shields

Thanks to new technology, researchers have discovered that the common swift flies 10 months a year without landing, setting a world record for uninterrupted time aloft.

By Jesslyn Shields & Mack Hayden

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And its special endowment is not the thing that intrigues scientists the most.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

In a state already teeming with pythons, tourists and Jimmy Buffett singalongs, the flesh-eating screwworm makes Florida a little more menacing.

By Jesslyn Shields

In research that showed intentional expressions of desire, horses have been added to the short list of animals that can use symbols to communicate with humans.

By Jesslyn Shields

New fossil analysis illuminates the evolution of the modern American gator species, and why it may prefer freshwater sources - like your local golf course.

By Jesslyn Shields

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The most popular lady macaques show us why nitpicking pays off.

By Jesslyn Shields

Can you tell one species of giraffe from the next? We've got some pics to help you out.

By Kate Kershner