The Wild Within the Walls
From antiquity to modern times, Rome has been entangled with the wild animals who creep, slither, scurry, and nest among its pillars and palaces.
Photo Essay
Latest in Photo Essay
Toads on the Roads
South Africa is the only place in the world where the endangered western leopard toad can be found. Can locals learn to coexist with—and conserve—their vulnerable amphibian neighbors?
From Weed to Wonder
Once dismissed as an underwater nuisance, scientists are beginning to see seagrass meadows as vital to marine and coastal health.
The Newt Normal
Droughts, wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events are putting an unprecedented strain on California newts. With help, scientists think these remarkable animals will be able to persevere.
Clear Water Revival
In a biodiversity wonderland hardly known outside South Africa, a decades-long effort to restore native fish and their streams is starting to pay off—but new trouble could undermine this fragile comeback.
Nomads of the North
A writer and photographer shares an intimate portrait of the annual migration and uncertain future of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
Starling-Studded Skies
A modern approach to a 19th-century photography technique celebrates both the art and science behind one of the planet’s most mesmerizing spectacles.
Life, Death, and Renewal in the Campo Rupestre
In a little-known region of Brazil that calls to mind Tolkien’s Middle-earth, unique lifeforms have evolved to endure innumerable environmental challenges. Can they survive the country's latest era of deregulation?
From Reviled to Adored
How one community—and one woman in particular—have found a way to protect the rarest stork in the world simply by learning to appreciate the species and embracing it as one of their own.
A New Hope
Discovered a mere four years ago, the Skywalker gibbon quickly landed on the list of the world's 25 most endangered primates. While its status remains precarious, the species is inspiring a newfound effort to protect and restore the forests of China’s Gaoligong Mountains.
Toads on the Roads
South Africa is the only place in the world where the endangered western leopard toad can be found. Can locals learn to coexist with—and conserve—their vulnerable amphibian neighbors?
From Weed to Wonder
Once dismissed as an underwater nuisance, scientists are beginning to see seagrass meadows as vital to marine and coastal health.
The Newt Normal
Droughts, wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events are putting an unprecedented strain on California newts. With help, scientists think these remarkable animals will be able to persevere.
Clear Water Revival
In a biodiversity wonderland hardly known outside South Africa, a decades-long effort to restore native fish and their streams is starting to pay off—but new trouble could undermine this fragile comeback.
Nomads of the North
A writer and photographer shares an intimate portrait of the annual migration and uncertain future of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
Starling-Studded Skies
A modern approach to a 19th-century photography technique celebrates both the art and science behind one of the planet’s most mesmerizing spectacles.
Life, Death, and Renewal in the Campo Rupestre
In a little-known region of Brazil that calls to mind Tolkien’s Middle-earth, unique lifeforms have evolved to endure innumerable environmental challenges. Can they survive the country's latest era of deregulation?
From Reviled to Adored
How one community—and one woman in particular—have found a way to protect the rarest stork in the world simply by learning to appreciate the species and embracing it as one of their own.
A New Hope
Discovered a mere four years ago, the Skywalker gibbon quickly landed on the list of the world's 25 most endangered primates. While its status remains precarious, the species is inspiring a newfound effort to protect and restore the forests of China’s Gaoligong Mountains.