Why does Hierakonpolis, ancient Egypt's earliest city, contain tombs for baboons, elephants, cows, dogs, and cats? Archaeologists are uncovering answers.

More than a hundred elephants in Kenya have died in the past year, say conservationists, who blame the worst drought in 12 years as well as continued poaching. Video.

Africa's largest snake—the "vicious," 20-foot rock python—is now colonizing the Everglades, scientists say. The giant snake's threat is "worse" than that of the Burmese python, another alien likely introduced to the swamp by the pet trade.

For the first time, a photographer has walked alongside Wyoming pronghorn on their annual treks, documenting the modern obstacles endangering the ancient migration.

The Japanese town made infamous by the movie The Cove has temporarily suspended its hunt. The annual Taiji hunt claims around 2,000 dolphins, killed by hand after being herded into a shallow cove. Video.

Like people at a crowded cocktail party, killer whales raise their voices to be heard in busy waters. This may mean the animals are wearing themselves out to communicate during hunts, new research suggests.

A "handsome" three-foot rodent is among the 40 potentially new species found on Mount Bosavi in central Papua New Guinea, one of the least explored places on Earth, conservationists say.

A meat-eating marsupial, a purring frog, and the first new dolphin species in three decades are among at least 1,300 plant and animal species discovered in Australia since 1999, a new report says.

Rock rabbit dung heaps in Africa—some dating back tens of thousands of years—are time capsules of climate and vegetation information. Video.

New genetic analysis bolsters the theory that wolves were first domesticated in East Asia, a new study says—and it's possible the canines were tamed to be livestock, not pets.

Global warming is putting the pika, a hamster-like mammal, in peril. High in the Colorado mountains, a National Geographic researcher is trying to find out why its numbers are falling. Video.

A thousand "humans" melt in Berlin, golfers use a cuddly caddy, fires ravage Los Angeles, and more in our roundup of the week's best news pictures.

Former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, star of the new documentary The Cove, again confronts the Japanese town where dolphins are trapped and killed by hand in "drive hunts." Video.

Over the past 30 years key species have declined by 40 percent both inside and outside the reserves, according to a new study that questions a central tenet of Kenya's wildlife conservation strategy.

See undersea worlds that stand to be lost—and that six Southeast Asian governments are trying to save with their new Coral Triangle initiative to protect coastal reefs. Video.