Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Straddling the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, this vast wilderness spans over 800 square miles of ancient mountains, lush forests, and sparkling streams. The park supports one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the eastern United States, with more than 19,000 documented species and estimates reaching 90,000 in ...
Belize – Deep in the rainforests of southern Belize, a quiet crisis unfolds for the Hicatee, the Central American river turtle teetering on the brink of extinction. Overharvesting for food has decimated populations despite legal protections, leaving this fully aquatic species one of the world’s 25 most threatened turtles. Zoo New England forged a vital ...
Yellowstone National Park – A parasite long known for altering behavior in other animals has now reshaped dynamics among the park’s wolves. Researchers found that wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a pathogen typically harbored by felines, showed heightened tendencies toward leadership and early pack dispersal. These changes carry significant risks, as leaving packs prematurely exposes ...
Northern California — Biologists announced in early March that a pair of reintroduced California condors had built the species’ first nest in the Pacific Northwest in more than a century. The birds selected a remote cavity high in an old-growth redwood tree within Yurok ancestral territory along Redwood Creek. This milestone, detected through satellite tracking ...
Millions of supporters gathered virtually and in person on March 20, 2026, to observe World Rewilding Day under the unifying theme “#ChooseOurFuture.” Organized by the Global Rewilding Alliance, the event highlighted rewilding’s role in restoring ecosystems amid climate challenges and biodiversity loss. Participants from six continents shared visions of thriving landscapes, from film screenings to ...
Panama – The vivid yellow Panamanian golden frog, a cherished national symbol, has not graced the wild streams of central Panama since 2009. A relentless fungal disease wiped out populations in their last refuge at El Valle de Anton five years earlier. Conservationists marked a turning point late last year by releasing 100 captive-bred frogs ...
Researchers in South Korea unearthed a partial skeleton in 2023 that revealed a previously unknown dinosaur species, marking the nation’s first such discovery since 2011. The find on Aphae Island, part of the southwestern coast, dates to the mid-Cretaceous period around 100 million years ago and includes rare skull fragments alongside other bones. This breakthrough ...
You don’t need a PhD to change the course of science. Sometimes all you need is a pair of sturdy boots, an eye for something odd in the ground, and a little bit of luck. Throughout history, some of the most jaw-dropping dinosaur discoveries have not come from university-funded expeditions or high-tech research labs. They’ve ...
Picture a world without weather forecasts, heated homes, or even a winter jacket. Now imagine surviving through it all, for millions of years, with nothing but what evolution gave you. That was the daily reality for prehistoric animals as they faced ice ages, volcanic winters, crushing droughts, and relentless polar darkness. What they lacked in ...
You’d think that by 2026, with satellites, ground-penetrating radar, DNA analysis, and every technological trick in the book, we’d have answered most of the big questions about ancient human settlements. Yet here we are, still scratching our heads over cities that rose and fell long before any European set foot on American soil. Some of ...
