Animals

This shark may look menacing, but sautee it and drizzle some lemon caper sauce on top, and this dogfish becomes doggone delicious.

Would You Eat This Fish? A Shark Called Dogfish Makes A Tasty Taco

8:08am January 07, 2017

by Allison Aubrey

About 90 percent of the fish Americans eat is imported, yet fish caught off our shores is often exported. New efforts are promoting locally caught fish, especially ones we've never appreciated before.

Tilikum performs at SeaWorld Orlando in March 2011. The famous orca has died at an estimated age of 36.

Tilikum, SeaWorld's Famed Orca And Subject Of 'Blackfish,' Dies

1:12pm January 06, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Tilikum was estimated to be 36 years old and had been in declining health for months. In 2010, he killed a SeaWorld trainer; a documentary about the incident led to outcry over orca captivity.

Kiyoshi Kimura (center) poses with the Pacific bluefin tuna he won for about $632,000 at the Tsukiji fish market's annual New Year auction. The fish weighs about 466 pounds.

A Big Fish Sells For Over Half A Million — But Other Big Questions Persist

5:06pm January 05, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

For the sixth year in a row, Kiyoshi Kimura won a massive Pacific bluefin tuna at Tsukiji market's famed New Year auction. Conservationists are worried about the species' dwindling population.

Northern Elephant Seals Gather Along California Coast

4:39pm January 04, 2017

by Will Huntsberry

It's the time of year when northern elephant seals, some as big as a car and weighing 5,000 pounds, gather in colonies along the California coast. They fight each other in noisy battles for the right to mate.

Expanding Human Habitat Puts Giraffe Population At Risk

7:29am January 04, 2017

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says giraffes are on the way to extinction. Rachel Martin talks to Julian Fennessy of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation about the animals' status.

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Science

Dinosaur 'Baby Teeth' Reveal That Dino Eggs Hatched Slowly

3:12pm January 02, 2017

by Madeline K. Sofia

Early stages of dinosaur development remain a mystery. However, researchers have uncovered a new way to study the early stages using the teeth of fossilized dinosaur embryos.

Fifteen tons of elephant tusks are set on fire during an anti-poaching ceremony at Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, Kenya in March 2015. Conservationists say a pledge by China to stop the ivory trade is a possible game-changer in the struggle to curb the

China Says It Will Shut Down Its Ivory Trade in 2017

6:49am January 02, 2017

by Christopher Joyce

After years of negotiation with wildlife conservation groups, China's government has now set a timetable to end its legal ivory trade--March 2017.

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Flowers and sympathy cards for Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinatti Zoo. This year was one for celebrity deaths, human and animal alike.

A Remembrance: The Great Animals That Died In 2016

6:39pm December 31, 2016

by Maggie Penman

This year has become widely known for celebrity deaths, but a number of great animals have also died this year.

An Egyptian fruit bat flies in an abandoned quarry near the village of Mammari, Cyprus, in 2007.

Science

When Bats Squeak, They Tend To Squabble

7:53am December 31, 2016

by NPR Staff

Researchers have found new clues to how bats communicate. And it turns out they tend to argue — a lot. The research could lead to a broader understanding of animal communication.

Pan Pan sniffs a birthday cake made of ice for his 30th birthday, at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Dujiangyan, on Sept. 21, 2015.

'Panda Grandpa' Pan Pan Dies In China

4:23pm December 30, 2016

by Maggie Penman

Pan Pan, who died this week at the age of 31, was known as the "panda grandpa": He has some 130 descendants worldwide, accounting for a quarter of the world's captive giant pandas.