Its skin pale and rubbery and its organs swollen with gas, an "alien" discovered in a Panama creek has now been identified by veterinarians as a common three-toed sloth.

Asteroids slamming into Earth, a planet sneaking up on us, an angry sun singing the planet—find out why these and other end-of-the-world events won't be happening in 2012.

Supposed Maya predictions of the end of the world in 2012 have some people seriously scared. See what experts say about the unknown planet predicted to pummel Earth, the cataclysmic "galactic alignment," and more.

Just as some people today believe a Maya calendar pinpoints 2012 as the end of the world as we know it, people through centuries and across cultures have long forecast our collective doom.

Hyper-real animation—think movies like The Polar Express or Beowulf—can get too realistic for comfort, psychologists say. And according to a new study, monkeys might agree.

From AquaPenguin to Charlie the Robo-Tuna, underwater robots are going wild as scientists find nature has often already conquered their engineering challenges.

"Absolutely sensational" new pictures are rare proof that the world's largest toothed whales feed on elusive giant squid. And if researchers are right, the photos may also show a baby whale's hunting lessons.

Get spooked by a ghostshark, a "Dracula" fish, a carnivorous sea squirt, and more of 2009's freakiest finds.

In time for Halloween, archaeologists have unearthed a witch bottle—a stone jug that may have contained toenails, hair, and other bodily bits to deter witches and other evildoers.

At Halloween, pause to remember the animal "undead"—before they remember you. From "resurrected" spiders to mind-controlled ants to reanimated frozen frogs, some wildlife is wild "dead" too.

Get the facts on Halloween history, today's most popular costumes, record-breaking pumpkins, and more in National Geographic News's 2009 Halloween roundup.

Wild dromedary camels, brought to Australia in the mid-19th century to help explore and develop the outback, were left to breed and survive on their own. Now they number a million in the wild and have become pests, officials say. Video.

From "cannibal" water beetles to blind cave eels, hundreds of newfound subterranean animals have revealed unexpected diversity in the dry Australian outback.

A new robot sweats, moans, and exhibits symptoms of the H1N1 swine flu virus. Unveiled Thursday in Japan, the robot is to help train health care workers. Video.

Putting a new spin on the term "nuclear waste dump," radioactive droppings from Cold War-era critters have spurred a high-tech cleanup funded by the current U.S. government economic stimulus program.