For Killer Whales, Saddle Patches are Like Fingerprints

Each killer whale has a distinct pattern of pigmentation behind its dorsal fin. How do these patterns vary around the world?

Nov 29, 2024 | seven-panel comic

Peekaboo Plovers

Can you spot these baby birds?

Oct 18, 2024 | six-panel comic

For Seals, Big Hearts Mean Big Dives

An enlarged aorta enables seals to dive for longer durations.

Jul 25, 2024 | 200 words, a quick read

Sneaky Little Swimmers

Among white-banded triplefin, males with different mating strategies have distinct semen-shooting shimmies.

Jun 21, 2024 | 6-panel comic

Say It with a Beluga Bauble Wobble

Melon shape is to belugas what expressive eyebrows are to people.

May 30, 2024 | six-panel comic

How to Use an Anvil (If You’re a Wrasse)

Fish aren’t fools—they use tools.

May 3, 2024 | six-panel comic

For Marlin, Stripes Mean Stop

Drone footage reveals that marlin flash their bright stripes before going in for a kill.

Apr 5, 2024 | Five-panel comic

Pastoral Preferences of the Pygmy Squid

Facing habitat loss, where else could pygmy squid live?

Feb 22, 2024 | Eight-panel comic

For Sale: Shark Jaw, Tiger Claw, Fish Maw

With little enforcement or legal culpability, social media helps wildlife trafficking thrive in plain sight.

Feb 20, 2024 | 1,600 words, about 8 minutes

In Brazil, the Seahorse Black Market Is Bustling

Every year, the country’s fishers accidentally catch millions of seahorses. Where they all go, nobody quite knows.

Jan 25, 2024 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

How to Spot Your Penguin Partner

African penguins tell each other apart by the dot patterns on their chests.

Jan 18, 2024 | Seven-panel comic

In Graphic Detail: The Longest Southern Right Whale Migration

Why did the whale cross the Atlantic Ocean? Perhaps the grass was greener on the other side.

Nov 3, 2023 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

In Graphic Detail: The Harrowing Heat Hump

The planet just keeps getting hotter.

Oct 4, 2023 | 350 words, a quick read

The Octopus Boxing Guide

Scientists take a biomechanical look at how, exactly, octopuses punch fish.

Sep 8, 2023 | Six-panel comic

California’s Undisturbed Gaviota Coast Draws a Shocking Range of Wildlife

Mountain lions and bears and pigs, oh my! Charting the unexpected denizens of California beaches.

Aug 24, 2023 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Cooperative Circle Feeding Means Snacks All Around

For the first time, scientists have observed southern right whales feeding together in a circle.

Aug 9, 2023 | Eight-panel comic

In Graphic Detail: What’s on the Menu for Killer Whales?

From herring to narwhal to seal, killer whale diets vary across the North Atlantic.

Apr 14, 2023 | 500 words, about 2 minutes

Another Animal That Speckles with Age: Dolphins

Scientists can now predict how old Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are based on their speckled bellies.

Mar 22, 2023 | 550 words, about 2 minutes

In Graphic Detail: Gray Whales in Flux

The number of gray whales in the eastern North Pacific Ocean was a cause for celebration a few years ago. What happened?

Jan 26, 2023 | 300 words, a quick read

Sea Otter Recovery Is Sending Ripples through the Ecosystem

On Pleasant Island, Alaska, wolves are feasting on sea otters. That’s surprisingly bad news for deer.

Jan 24, 2023 | 550 words, about 2 minutes

Suiting Up like a Shark Is Still a Struggle

Shark skin is the envy of engineers trying to maximize hydrodynamics, but shark skin–inspired materials have a long way to go before they work like the real thing.

Oct 19, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Would You Swim with a Robot Dolphin?

It’s not hard to convince people to want to hang out with a robot dolphin instead of the real thing.

Oct 6, 2022 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Looking For a Better Way to Scare Seals

By tapping into a nails-on-a-chalkboard-like reflex, scientists are hopeful they’ve found a way to keep seals away from endangered salmon.

Aug 29, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Lost Birds Can Be Cash Cows for Local Tourism

When an internet-famous Steller’s sea eagle turned up roughly 11,000 kilometers from home in late 2021, birders flocked to catch a glimpse.

Aug 22, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

A Community’s Quest to Document Every Species on Their Island Home

Naming leads to knowing, which leads to understanding. Residents of a small British Columbia island take to the forests and beaches to connect with their nonhuman neighbors.

Jun 28, 2022 | 5,000 words, about 25 minutes

In Graphic Detail: Most Common Throat-Piercing Fish Bones

Researchers in Japan figure out which fish species cause fish eaters the most problems.

May 20, 2022 | 400 words, about 2 minutes

Humpback Mothers Are Being Squeezed from Both Sides

Humpbacks prefer to keep their calves in shallow water, but increasing boat traffic is pushing them out to sea.

May 18, 2022 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Snails’ Scars Offer a 100,000-Year Record of Crab Populations

A surprisingly simple technique for studying scars on snails’ shells shows how California’s crab population has changed over millennia.

Apr 27, 2022 | 550 words, about 2 minutes

Killer Whales’ Scars Tell a Story

By counting their scars and when they got them, scientists are unlocking new insights on killer whale social dynamics.

Mar 14, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Iceland’s Confusing Inter-cetacean Conflict

It’s pilot whales versus killer whales in the waters off southern Iceland—though researchers can’t really explain why.

Sep 23, 2021 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

To a Salmon’s Eye, Spirit Bears Have Natural Camouflage

Salmon are much more likely to avoid a black bear-shaped object than a white one.

Aug 11, 2021 | 750 words, about 3 minutes