147 stories
Whether you’re a red panda fan because you’ve seen them at your local zoo, or because your tween has watched Disney’s “Turning Red” movie umpteen times, you don’t want to miss International Red Panda Day on September 16, 2023.
Despite the challenges today’s world faces, Planet Earth is the gift that keeps on giving. That’s good news for scientists who relish the rush of discovery, as some think there are approximately 8.7 million species left to be found.
I’d been on Kangaroo Island for less than an hour when I spotted my first bit of wildlife: a koala perched high in the branches of a blue-gum eucalyptus tree.
The snow leopard has captured the interest of wildlife biologists, conservationists and the communities around northern and central Asia’s high mountains for centuries. This big cat has adapted to thrive in one of the world’s tallest mountainous regions, the Himalayas. The shy and solitary snow leopard is an elusive creature.
A decade ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a call to action to raise awareness about endangered and near-extinct animals and help put an end to the illegal wildlife trade that puts precious species at risk around the globe.
Cheetahs are the world’s fasted land mammals, able to accelerate from zero to 64 miles an hour in only three seconds. They are also one of the most ancient of the big cat species, with ancestors tracing back about 8.5 million years. Despite being swift-footed, ferocious hunters, cheetahs can’t outrun the growing threat of extinction.
Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon that highlights the brilliance of the natural world—literally! Glowworms light up, fireflies flash and plankton sparkle. These animals use their natural abilities to ensnare prey, to defend themselves, to attract mates and, at times, to simply illuminate the path ahead.
The quintessential “big cat,” the leopard is the most generalized of the Pantherines. The four others—lion, tiger, jaguar and snow leopard—are more specialized and less adaptable. Yet all share an ancestral link to a pre-historic feline that looked and behaved much like the modern leopard.
Across the world, there are about six thousand coral species. Some species grow in warm shallow waters near coastlines, and others thrive on the dark, cold seafloor of the open ocean.
There may be no phenomena more magical on Earth than the aurora borealis and the aurora australis: the northern and southern lights.
The planet we call home is warming faster than at any point in recorded history. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket our Earth, they trap the sun’s heat.
The Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) officially became extinct in January 2000, when a falling tree landed on Celia, the world’s last wild Pyrenean ibex. Unfortunately, what led up to that unhappy incident was a sad history for this wild mountain goat. Several species of ibex once lived across Africa, Asia and Europe.
