New Zealand Department of Conservation staff assess the remains of a deceased sperm whale. Department of Conservation (NZ) hide caption
Animals Animals
Animals
A Phoenix Herpetological Society rattlesnake class attendee moves to pick up a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake with snake tongs under the supervision of instructor Cale Morris at the Florence Ely Nelson Desert Park in Scottsdale, Arizona. Caitlin O'Hara for NPR hide caption
Cynthia Hornor poses with Nimble, the first mixed-breed dog ever to win the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's agility competition, in New York on Monday. Jennifer Peltz/AP hide caption
Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling has named the mosquito as the world's scariest animal. He has a point. David Gannon/AFP via Getty Images; Paul Sarosta/Getty Images hide caption
Traveling internationally with a dog — or adopting one from abroad — just got a bit more complicated. The CDC issued new rules intended to reduce the risk of importing rabies. mauinow1/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption
Sperm whales have lengthy exchanges, made up of clicks, which scientists have found is more complex than previously thought. Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images hide caption
What are sperm whales saying? Researchers find a complex 'alphabet'
This illustration depicts a washed-up Ichthyotitan severnensis carcass on the beach. Sergey Krasovskiy hide caption
Weliton Menário Costa (center) holds a laptop while surrounded by dancers for his music video, "Kangaroo Time." From left: Faux Née Phish (Caitlin Winter), Holly Hazlewood, and Marina de Andrade. Nic Vevers/ANU hide caption
'Dance Your Ph.D.' winner on science, art, and embracing his identity
Sea lions sunbathe on a raft along Pier 39, on Thursday. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP hide caption
Researchers in a rainforest in Indonesia spotted an injury on the face of a male orangutan they named Rakus. They were stunned to watch him treat his wound with a medicinal plant. Armas/Suaq Project hide caption
Joie Henney says his emotional support alligator, Wally, is missing in Georgia after being kidnapped, found and released into a swamp with some 20 other gators. Heather Khalifa/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP hide caption
When hobbyist photographer Michael Sanchez snapped this picture of a blue rock-thrush subspecies on the coast of northern Oregon last week, he didn't know how rare the bird was until he posted it to social media. Michael Sanchez hide caption
Deer are expanding north. That could hurt some species like boreal caribou
A Nazca booby in the Galápagos Islands incubates eggs with its webbed feet. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
For birds, siblinghood can be a matter of life or death
A donkey's owner makes last-minute adjustments ahead of the costume competition at the annual Donkey Festival in San Antero. Andrés Ríos for NPR hide caption
Bird flu is spreading through U.S. dairy cattle. Scientists say the risk to people is minimal, but open questions remain, including how widespread the outbreak is and how the virus is spreading. DOUGLAS MAGNO/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A coyote at the Fort Worth Zoo is photographed in the hours leading up to the April 8 total solar eclipse. The Hartstone-Rose Research Lab, NC State hide caption
Animals get stressed during eclipses. But not for the reason you think
Two horses bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych on Wednesday. Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images hide caption
Damming waterways is what beavers do best, often to the chagrin of people who want the opposite. But those same damming skills are what make beavers important ecosystem engineers. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images hide caption
Amy Tan, author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Kim Newmoney/Penguin Randomhouse hide caption