Animals

Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji rolls around in his enclosure during a "Panda Palooza" event at the Smithsonian National Zoo on Saturday, in Washington, D.C. We're guessing he hasn't heard about the looming government shutdown.

National

A government shutdown could cut short the National Zoo's panda goodbye celebrations

5:01am September 25, 2023

by Emma Bowman

Through the rest of the month, the zoo is inviting the public to commemorate the departure of the three giant pandas who will return to China in December. A shutdown could kill the party's finale.

An alligator is seen at the Everglades National Park, Fla. On Friday, a gator was reportedly spotted with human remains in its mouth in a canal in Largo, Florida.

National

Florida authorities killed an alligator that was seen with human remains in its mouth

8:46pm September 23, 2023

by Emma Bowman

A 13-foot-8.5-inch male alligator was "humanely killed" and removed from the water, authorities said, after a local resident saw the reptile latching onto human remains in a Tampa Bay area canal.

Horseshoe crabs are bled alive at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014.

Environment

Vaccines are still tested with horseshoe crab blood. The industry is finally changing

11:00am September 23, 2023

by Chiara Eisner

The horseshoe crab bleeding industry is in transition. One biomedical company agreed to more oversight, and a regulatory group is paving the way for drug companies to use animal-free alternatives.

Two bear cousins became siblings this summer — and the new family fishes and lives together, led by 910.

From hangry to chonky: Fat Bear Week is coming

4:18pm September 21, 2023

by Bill Chappell

There can be only one — and they shall be rotund. The brown bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska have been plumping themselves up, to prepare for a new hibernation season.

The practice known as tail docking artificially shortens a horse's tail. Budweiser says it has stopped the practice on its signature Clydesdales, seen here in 2012.

National

Anheuser-Busch says it will no longer amputate the tails of Budweiser's Clydesdales

1:46pm September 21, 2023

by Laurel Wamsley

The beermaker says it will end the practice known as tail docking after it came under pressure by animal rights group PETA.

Malibu triathlon could be canceled because of a school of tiny endangered fish

7:59am September 21, 2023

The fish are occupying a flooded underpass on the course. Normally participants could use a bridge over the water, nut not this year — the Fish and Wildlife Service won't allow it.

Queue Listen Now

7 wild facts about the spotted lanternfly

5:06am September 20, 2023

by Marielle Segarra

Spotted Lanternflies are an invasive species of bug now in 14 states. NPR's Life Kit has tips on how you can help stop their spread. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Sept. 17, 2023.)

Disney World was not the most magical place on earth for a black bear

7:24am September 19, 2023

The bear was spotted in a tree at the Magic Kingdom, so officials shut down parts of the park. The bear was eventually safely captured, and is being relocated to the Ocala National Forest.

Queue Listen Now

Green sea turtles are making a comeback south of Los Angeles

5:09am September 19, 2023

by Jacob Margolis

Once on the path to extinction, East Pacific green sea turtles in L.A. are coming back in a major way – right in the middle of suburbia. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Sept. 15, 2023.)

People visit the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., April 18, 2022.

National

A black bear on a tree in Walt Disney World temporarily shut down parts of the park

3:09pm September 18, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured an adult, female bear and say they will relocate her outside the theme park.