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.

Topics to Explore

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Some Butterflies Hear Through Their Wings

Structures in some butterflies' wings are actually part of their ears.

By Jesslyn Shields Oct 25, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Insects

Sea Cucumber: Animal or Vegetable?

The kindest thing you can say about a sea cucumber's physique is that it looks very much like a large hoagie bun dressed in a lumpy old sweater.

By Jesslyn Shields Oct 17, 2018 Marine Life / Other Marine Life

Bees Stopped Buzzing During the 2017 Solar Eclipse

Thanks to a citizen science project in the path of totality, researchers studied bee activity and were surprised by the results.

By John Perritano Oct 15, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Insects

How Birds Get Berry, Berry Drunk

Berries are a great food source for birds, but this diet can backfire when the fruit starts to ferment.

By Jesslyn Shields Oct 15, 2018 Birds / Perching Birds

Scientists Figure Out Why Elephants' Skin Is So Cracked

Scientists have known for a long time that elephants have no sweat glands and keep cool through slinging mud on their skin. But they didn't know what made the skin so wrinkled — until now.

By Nathan Chandler Oct 15, 2018 Mammals / Other Mammals

Only Birds Have a Syrinx and That's Why They Sing

Only birds have a special voice box — the syrinx — and it's what they use to sing. But what's so unique about the syrinx is that it's actually an evolutionary anomaly.

By Jesslyn Shields Oct 12, 2018 Birds / Perching Birds

Contrary to Popular Opinion, Cats Are No Good at Catching Rats

The old saw about cats being good catchers of rats was finally put to scientific study — and the results were pretty sad.

By Nathan Chandler Oct 8, 2018 Mammals / Rodents

Who Knew a Praying Mantis Could Learn?

For five nights in a row, a praying mantis came to the same garden spot to hunt for fish, completely confounding scientists.

By Jesslyn Shields Oct 3, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Insects

Baby Giraffes Get Their Spots From Mom

A new study found that those spot patterns are not only inherited from mom, they help camouflage baby giraffes in the wild.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler Oct 2, 2018 Mammals / Hoofed Mammals

PCBs Are Killing Killer Whales

A new study paints a grave future for the killer whale, all because of the now-banned chemicals polychlopinated biphenyls — PCBs.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler Sep 27, 2018 Mammals / Aquatic Mammals

Researchers Stunned by Gorgeous New Fish Find

Scientific divers from the California Academy of Sciences discover new species of dazzling, neon-colored fish.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky Sep 27, 2018 Fish / Saltwater Fish

Oh, Birds! Please Don't Fly Into Our Windows

Why do birds do that? A global citizen science project wants you to help them find out.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler Sep 25, 2018 Birds / Perching Birds

What a Tangled Web a Few Squirrels' Tails Can Weave

It's a natural phenomenon known as a 'squirrel king.' But what's the deal and why do squirrels get tangled up?

By Jamie Allen Sep 21, 2018 Mammals / Rodents

How Beekeeping Works

Beekeeping, when you get down to it, is the art and science of removing honey from hardworking bees without them missing it. But beekeeping is about so much more than just the honey.

By Dave Roos Insects & Arachnids / Insects

How Billie the Dolphin Taught Her Flippered Friends to Bust a Move

A dolphin named Billie learned a dolphin-show trick from some captive dolphins, taught her wild friends how to do it and started a fad.

By Jesslyn Shields Sep 11, 2018 Mammals / Aquatic Mammals

New Species of Parasitic Wasps Found Inside Fossilized Fly Cocoons

The tiny fly cocoons are between 34 and 40 million years old and contained well-preserved parasitic fossils.

By Mark Mancini Sep 10, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Insects

Several New Species of Tarantula Found High in the Andes

A Columbia University scientist stumbled upon the first of seven new spiders while hunting for local frogs.

By Mark Mancini Sep 6, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Arachnids

Don't Hate This Squirrel Because He's Beautiful

The Indian giant squirrel is covered in flamboyant colors like orange, black and bright purple. But why?

By Jamie Allen Aug 31, 2018 Mammals / Rodents

Goats Really Like it When You Smile at Them

Domesticated animals like dogs and horses are known to respond to human facial expressions, but a new study finds that goats also like it when we smile.

By Jesslyn Shields Aug 31, 2018 Mammals / Hoofed Mammals

French Rooks Trained as Park Janitors

A French theme park has trained a crew of six rooks to pick up after its messy guests.

By Jesslyn Shields Aug 29, 2018 Birds / Miscellaneous Birds

Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Cancer

A strange evolutionary plot twist has been uncovered in the search for why elephants rarely get cancer.

By Jesslyn Shields Aug 24, 2018 Mammals / Other Mammals

Cheap Magnets Could Keep Sharks Out of Fishing Nets

Commercial fisheries accidentally kill around 100 million — yes, 100 million — sharks each year. The solution to this problem might lie in magnets.

By Jesslyn Shields Aug 23, 2018 Fish / Sharks

New Tick Species Appears in U.S. for First Time in 50 Years

The Asian longhorned tick has shown up in six states so far, and nobody knows how it got here.

By Mark Mancini Aug 14, 2018 Insects & Arachnids / Arachnids

Not All Birds Fly South for Winter: Partial Migration Is on the Rise

Partial migration — where some animals or birds in the same species migrate regularly and others don't — is more common than you'd think. But what explains that behavior?

By Mark Mancini Aug 13, 2018 Birds / Perching Birds