Across an open Arctic landscape, a group of musk oxen notices wolves approaching in the distance. The herd becomes more compact. Large adults turn toward the threat, while younger and …
A black-tailed prairie dog stands upright beside its burrow, watching movement across the grassland. A potential predator is approaching. Seconds later, a sharp vocalization carries through the colony, and nearby …
A fish resting on an exposed mudflat seems to be in the wrong place. Then it pushes itself forward on its fins, skips across the mud, raises a colorful dorsal …
On the forest floor in eastern Australia, a male satin bowerbird may spend hours maintaining a structure made from carefully positioned sticks. Around it, he places selected objects—blue feathers, flowers, …
High above a rocky mountain slope, a bearded vulture circles with something unusual clutched beneath it: a large bone. The bird releases its cargo, the bone crashes against exposed rock, …
Summer on the Arctic tundra can bring a dramatic burst of biological activity. Migratory birds arrive to breed, eggs fill nests, insects emerge, and in some regions populations of lemmings …
A group of dark birds circling over a field can create an unsettling impression, especially when a dead deer is later discovered nearby. It is easy to connect the two …
A pond in late afternoon may seem easy to understand. Dragonflies patrol the shoreline, ducks forage or rest on the water, insects move among emergent plants, and sunlight fuels photosynthesis …
You see it crossing your yard at night and think “giant rat.” You’reactually looking at one of the most useful — and most misunderstood —animals in North America. 🐀 Meet …
A ruby-throated hummingbird hovering beside a flower and a blue whale descending beneath the ocean surface face the same basic physiological challenge: their tissues need oxygen, and their cardiovascular systems …