News & Commentary

Can Pokémon GO Get Gamers to Care About Real Wildlife, Too?

July 14, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Heading outside to catch ’em all? These scientists will help you identify the other creatures you might find—y’know, IRL.

Deadly Snake Rodeos: How Are They Still a Thing?

June 27, 2016 Latest NewsLouisianaJason Bittel

A Louisiana town recently hosted an event to slaughter its local snakes—and these festive ”roundups” are more common than you think.

How About We Just Leave Dory Alone?

June 17, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Sales of clown fish skyrocketed after "Saving Nemo." Will the same happen for blue tangs after the release of "Finding Dory"?

There Is Such a Thing as Bad Press—Especially If You’re a Wolf

June 8, 2016 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

In Spain, where conflicts between predators and livestock are fraught with emotion, no news is often good news for Iberian wolf conservation.

You Have More Fingers on One Hand Than There Are Addaxes Left in the Wild

May 25, 2016 Latest NewsAfricaJason Bittel

A recent survey says just THREE of these African antelope remain.

Making Frogs Chytrid-Proof—One Hopper at a Time

May 12, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Can two shipping containers turn the tide against a fungal frog plague?

Who’s Going to Save the Tapeworms?

May 2, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

When an endangered species goes over the brink, so, too, does its parasite.

War and Poverty Are Eating Away at Grauer’s Gorillas

April 28, 2016 Latest NewsAfricaJason Bittel

To save these rare great apes in the Congo, you must first save the people.

The Silence of the Shrimps: How Carbon Pollution Could Put the Sea on Mute

April 18, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Ocean acidification takes the "snap" out of snapping shrimp.

Forget Bigfoot. We’ve Got El Jefe.

February 24, 2016 Latest NewsWestJason Bittel

One of the world’s largest cats prowls the American Southwest—and almost no one knows it’s there.

A Red Flag for Red Colobus

February 8, 2016 Latest NewsAfricaJason Bittel

Hunted by humans and chimps and besieged by civil war and deforestation, Africa’s red colobus monkeys have few reasons to celebrate.

So You Want a Pet Squirrel Monkey . . .

February 3, 2016 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Squirrel monkeys must contend with habitat loss, decreasing genetic diversity, and the curse of being cute.

Of Monkeys, Men, and Protozoans

January 28, 2016 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

A recent study finds a link between deforestation and risk of monkey-transmitted malaria.

For the Love of Monkeys, Save Pandas

January 5, 2016 Latest NewsChinaJason Bittel

A new study shows that protecting pandas can help save snub-nosed monkeys from extinction.

The Christmas Crab Massacre

December 24, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Ants are killing Christmas Island’s iconic red crabs by the millions. Could tiny wasps save the day?

Burnin' Blubber

December 9, 2015 Latest NewsArcticJason Bittel

As warmer summers melt the Arctic, Pacific walruses have to work a lot harder to reach their seafloor feasts.

Seeing Stars

December 2, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Scientists discover an expansive network of tortoise poachers in Asia.

The Cougar Next Door

November 27, 2015 PerspectivesUnited StatesJason Bittel

A new documentary reveals that mountain lions are not the solitary killing machines we’ve always thought.

Shot in the Dark

November 12, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Mauritius is killing tens of thousands of vulnerable fruit bats.

Give Us Guano or Give Us Death

November 10, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Bat poop sustains entire ecosystems in places where they wouldn’t exist otherwise. So when bats go, many cave-dwellers go with them.