Down to Earth
The biodiversity crisis, explained
The solution is tall and green and leafy and grows all on its own.
The sunflower sea star is functionally extinct. It could be key to saving our kelp forests.
Hurricane Beryl and other superstorms would be much more dangerous without these iconic ocean animals.
Should we help wild animals get to better habitats to survive?
The latest in Down to Earth
For millions of years, these animals have carried life on their backs — literally.
Scientists are finally listening to the island's iconic coquis — and they have a lot to say.
Nature is priceless — but quantifying its value could help save it.
Countless rare animals lurk under the logs in the Appalachian Mountains.
More animals can occasionally reproduce asexually than scientists realized.
Billions of these bugs are about to erupt from the Earth — and they rule.
Scientists put sleep trackers on a bunch of wild pigs. The results reveal a troubling trend.
Las mascotas fugitivas, y posiblemente algunas escapadas del zoológico, han llegado por casi toda la isla. Es una catástrofe en ciernes.
Runaway pets — and possibly some zoo escapees — have fueled the spread of invasive snakes across the island. It’s an environmental catastrophe in the making.
Years ago, scientists made a devastating prediction about the ocean. Now it’s unfolding.
The arrival of Brood XIX and Brood XIII will send shockwaves through forest food webs.
The detection of bird flu in cows and thecommercial milksupply raises new concerns about the risks to public health.
How a neighborhood project to count squirrels bound me to my wild kin.
In NYC, many wildlife rehabbers see pests as part of a thriving urban ecosystem.
Scientists have declared a mass global bleaching event. But some reefs are still hanging on — and even thriving.
In a grim new analysis of tropical forests, there are a few important glimmers of hope.
Two simple solutions would save the North Atlantic right whale. Why aren’t we using them?
The age-old Japanese tradition of hanami has become a harbinger of change.
Two key numbers from a new study reveal how wild animals help farmers manage pests.
Queen conchs in the Florida Keys are struggling to mate. Scientists are going to help them hook up.
The Atlantic Ocean is unusually warm right now. Here’s why scientists say that’s “deeply troubling.”
The unhelpful, distracting debate about whether oat milk is bad for you totally misses the point.
As the Arctic warms, these iconic bears are spending more time on land. New videos reveal why that’s a problem.
Gird your curds! Say a prayer for Camembert! A collapse in microbe diversity puts these French cheeses at risk.
Humans are literally changing the color of the planet. Scientists are worried.
A new solution to save the iconic Joshua tree uses a distant relative of one of the Mojave’s ancient seed distributors: The camel.
Everything from Ozempic to Covid vaccines is tested on long-tailed macaques. Experts believe many are illegally trafficked from the wild.
Scientists have never seen a newborn great white shark ... until (maybe) now.
It’s good news for bat-haters and bad news for everyone else.
Stray cats harm wildlife. Should we kill them?
Climate change and other human impacts are turning some animals nocturnal.
At the center of a controversial new proposal to limit logging are very, very old trees.
In Central Mexico’s forests, armed community members defend an iconic butterfly from cartel-backed logging.
Good God, give this US agency a few more dollars to stop a mass extinction.
Our planet faces a mass extinction. I visited ground zero.
To clean up poisoned streams, Appalachian researchers are turning acid mine drainage into something unexpected.
Dengue, drought, and floods are hammering Peru and Bolivia this year. At the UN climate talks, they’re seeking justice.
A herd of javelinas damaged a ritzy golf course in Arizona. Golf courses have done more damage.
Deep-sea mining threatens the world’s untapped and unknown underwater pharmacies.
It’s a bedbug’s world now. We’re just sleeping in it.