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<em>Circellium bacchus</em>, a rare subspecies of dung beetle, is a scarab like no other.
insects

The Outsize Allure of South Africa's Flightless Dung Beetle

In Addo Elephant National Park, the smallest residents may be the biggest draw.
Sandra MacGregor March 4, 2020
A new study suggests that when orcas and other whales swim to warm waters, they're taking a spa vacation—sloughing their skin and shedding the algae they accumulate in cold water.
animals

The Real Reason Whales Take Tropical Trips Each Year

No migration is too far for healthy skin.
Jennifer S. Holland March 3, 2020
An elk herd in Cataloochee.
Maggie Valley, North Carolina

Smoky Mountain Elk Fest

An annual celebration of the region's successful elk reintroduction program.
Six of the snakes left behind the Farringdon Community Fire Station, in a suburb of Sunderland, England.
abandoned

What Were 29 Exotic Snakes Doing in a U.K. Trash Bin?

Wriggling in pillowcases, trying to stay warm after being illegally abandoned.
Jennifer S. Holland February 24, 2020
Macquarie Island lengthwise, the research station at center.
Australia

Macquarie Island

One of the only places where Earth’s mantle lies above water.
Love fades.
animals

How a Minnesota Town Fell In and Out of Love With Its Ginormous Geese

Like most human-fowl relationships, it's complicated.
Molly Monk February 13, 2020
A mutually beneficial arrangement.
tunnels

What a Viral Video of a Coyote and Badger Says About Interspecies Duos

Sometimes they're buddies. Sometimes it's strictly business.
Jennifer S. Holland February 10, 2020
Two of the "Fantastic Grandmothers" document a greater sea snake, photo-identifying its uniquely patterned tail for their growing database.
snakes

The Snorkeling Grannies of New Caledonia

They're senior citizens turned citizen scientists. And their work is changing marine biology, one sea snake at a time.
Sofia Quaglia January 27, 2020
Today nearly 7,000 Père David's deer roam the wetlands of China.
natural history

The French Missionary and the English Duke Who Saved a Chinese Deer From Extinction

A conservation tale 120 years in the telling. 
Marina Wang January 24, 2020
Hungry?
fires

Air-Dropped Carrots Might Be a Temporary Answer to a Threatened Wallaby's Prayers

After devastating Australian bushfires, root vegetables could help the brush-tailed rock-wallaby hang on.
Jessica Leigh Hester January 16, 2020
And yet it's only half a mile from the mainland.
islands

The Quietest Spot in San Francisco Bay

If you're the lone caretaker of Brooks Island, not going crazy is job one.
Britta Shoot January 9, 2020
Welcome to Verdun, where toads live in bomb craters.
forests

In France, a Bloody WWI Battlefield Has Become a Wildlife Refuge

Toads, orchids, bats, and millions of unexploded shells.
Sabrina Imbler December 6, 2019
Cheyenne Bottoms.
Great Bend, Kansas

Cheyenne Bottoms

This 41,000-acre wetland complex is the largest marsh in the interior of the United States.
alcohol

A South African Couple Has Turned Elephant Dung Into Award-Winning Gin

Bottoms up!
Luke Fater November 21, 2019
The annual event is called Kwita Izina—“give a name” in Kinyarwanda, the country’s indigenous language.
names

How to Name a Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda

Start with an ancestral ceremony for human babies. Then add 30,000 people who want to save the endangered, majestic primates.
Chloe Berge October 18, 2019
Wearing wellies, she's striding forward with great purpose...
Brisbane, Australia

'Emblem'

A colorful sculpture of an Australian symbol patrols an otherwise ordinary traffic island.
A pelican at home on Pelican Island.
Vero Beach, Florida

Pelican Island

This small island was the first National Wildlife Refuge ever created in the United States.
As omnivores, bear meat and fat typically take on the flavor of their diet.
food

Why Bear Fat Makes for Better Baking

This niche practice was commonplace in North America for centuries.
Luke Fater September 20, 2019