When Krakatoa erupted, the sound it made circled the globe not one, but four times. By Aatish Bhatia.

In the landscape where Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed, a scientist is trying to understand a natural phenomenon that has eluded explanation for decades. By Joshua Sokol.

As a breeding facility works to retain a pure lineage of the Cuban crocodile, out in the wild the division between species is getting murkier all the time.

In 2018, everything is a metaphor. By Ed Yong.

Nightmares On Wax

In Grafton, New Hampshire (pop. 1,300), residents will use anything—guns, electric fences, firecrackers, cayenne pepper, bottle rockets—to defend themselves from bears. But is the town's ursine threat just fake news? By Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling.

To restore our democracy after Trump, we will need to reduce the material inequalities that were eroding popular sovereignty long before his rise. By Eric Levitz.

National Geographic warns of the devastating effects that plastics are having on the planet with a clever cover for its June edition. By Lee Moran.

I recently witnessed several Prehistoric Reptilian Leatherbacked Nocturnal Beach Layers crawling on to our shores late at night. Relax! There's no need to be afraid, this 100 million year old species pose absolutely no threat. In fact, it needs our protection. Still wondering what they are? I'm talking about Leatherback sea turtles. Leatherback Turtle at dawn after nesting Now After several drafts of this post I let a friend read it before publishing, his exact responses were, "I know that you like facts but, dig deep for your feelings" and "you're like a turtle!" I laughed and frowned. I then went back to the old keyboard, hopefully I was...

Beyond pandas and tigers, how many endangered species do you really know? By Elaina Zachos.

It is a cannibalistic, fist-sized frog covered in a noxious mucous secretion that burns your eyes. Its affinity for human structures leads it to clog drains and short-out the utility switches in which they lurk. They are spreading through the U.S. and we can’t stop them. Several message board commenters report that this proliferation is part of a communist invasion. By Michael Isaac Stein.

As they make their global journeys, migratory birds not only set birdwatchers’ binoculars agog, they also help the planet maintain its essential ecological balance.

A Lesson From History. By Terry Townshend.

Somalia and half of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania are expected to split from Africa to form a new continent. Forces of the Earth are the strongest at the base of the valley, yet it is also here that geological processes are most active. The rains have only aggravated the situation by washing away the ash, eventually exposing the cracks.

The impacts of climate change ripple through ecosystems in unexpected ways.

Fifty years after the publication of his controversial book The Population Bomb, biologist Paul Ehrlich warns overpopulation and overconsumption are driving us over the edge. By Damian Carrington.

Climate change, pollution, and growing demand will put increased pressure on the world's water supplies.

These uniquely versatile bugs are decimating crops and infiltrating houses all across the country. Will we ever be able to get rid of them?

A naked man covered in mud lies on a beach, nearby a dreadlocked recluse reads from the Book of Exodus and a woman strikes a low soothing note from a Tibetan singing bowl.

Robert O. Paxton reviews “The Enigma of the Owl: An Illustrated Natural History” by Mike Unwin and David Tipling, and “Owls: A Guide to Every Species in the World” by Marianne Taylor.