There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial. Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images hide caption
Animals Animals
Animals
Two chimpanzees groom each other — a behavior that can involve several gestures. Anup Shah/Getty Images hide caption
A bipartisan bill seeks to ban octopus farming in the U.S., outlawing a practice that has drawn controversy in Spain. Here, an octopus is seen at the Oceanopolis sea center in Brest, western France. Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Project RattleCam lets people observe rattlesnakes with a live webcam. Scott Boback hide caption
A cuttlefish swims on seagrass. Cuttlefish can change the color and texture of their bodies. cinoby/Getty Images hide caption
Dancing yeti crabs, morphing cuttlefish, other stories from the deep sea
This photo, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, shows a Matschie's tree kangaroo joey that made its first appearance from its mother's pouch at New York's Bronx Zoo, last Thursday. The joey, born at the end of December, is the second of its species born at the Bronx Zoo and to this female since 2021. Terria Clay/Wildlife Conservation Society/AP hide caption
Study participant Freddie sits next to a jar with an odor sample, then approaches a bowl to check for a treat. University of Bristol hide caption
This northern ghost bat (Diclidurus albus) was a special, rare find for the bat scientists gathered in Belize. “It was magical,” says evolutionary biologist Jasmin Camacho.
Luis Echeverría for NPR
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Crows can be trained to count out loud much in the way that human toddlers do, a study finds. Andreas Nieder/Universal Images Group Editorial hide caption
Synchronous fireflies, known as Photuris frontalis, blink in the woods near the Congaree River on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. Sam Wolfe for NPR hide caption
Tom Waddington, who is rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, filmed an hours-long encounter with what he believes were long-finned pilot whales. He enjoyed their visit — until one smacked into his small boat. @tomwaddington_skier hide caption
Cats scratching furniture may not be inevitable. Getty Images hide caption
In this Sept. 5, 2019 photo, a shark warning sign is seen at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, Mass. Susan Haigh/AP hide caption
This February 2022 photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows snakes in bags found hidden in a man's clothes at the San Ysidro, Calif., port of entry. On Tuesday, officials in China said a man was caught trying to smuggle more than 100 snakes into that country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection/AP hide caption
A macaque sits on a rock at Cayo Santiago as a rainbow stretches across the sky in February 2022. Lauren Brent hide caption
Some ants, like the Florida carpenter ant, treat the injured legs of comrades, and will even perform medical amputations when necessary. Zen Rial/Getty Images hide caption
Like humans, these ants can perform leg amputations to save lives
A blue shark captured from below off the coast of New Zealand. Cultura RM Exclusive/Richard Robinson/Getty Images hide caption
This image provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows a shark close to the shore in South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday. Texas Department of Public Safety/AP hide caption
Jennifer Privett takes her Himalayan cat Jean Claude out for a stroll in San Francisco on June 28. Chloe Veltman/NPR hide caption
A Northern Spotted Owl flies after a mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. To save the spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a plan to deploy trained shooters to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. Don Ryan/AP hide caption
An aquarium near Asheville, N.C., posted updates for weeks after saying in February that Charlotte, a round stingray, was pregnant. The news drew international headlines — but the facility now says the ray is sick, not pregnant. In this image from an April video update, the ray has a noticeable bulge on her back. Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO / Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Members of the Life Guards, a division of the Household Cavalry in London, on June 8, 2024. Three military horses have been recovered after bolting through central London on Monday morning. Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Reconstruction of a Lokiceratops rangiformis being surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps that would have existed in what is now northern Montana. Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution hide caption
Named after the Norse god Loki, meet Lokiceratops, a new horned dinosaur species
This photo shows a white buffalo calf born on June 4, 2024, in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, a spiritually significant event for many Native American tribes. Jordan Creech/via AP hide caption