National Geographic News

Sea turtles use Earth's magnetic field to navigate home: study

For millions of years, sea turtles have navigated the oceans to return to their birthplace to excavate nests and lay eggs. Scientists have long been mystified because it wasn't known how they did this.

Zimbabwe's plan to sell 34 baby elephants outrages activists

Maputo - Zimbabwe's Hwangwe National Park plans to sell elephants for as much as $40,000 each because it needs the money to run the park, officials say. The park plans to sell more than 60 elephants to buyers in China, France, and the United Arab Emirates.

Angry groundhog menaces Hampton couple

Hampton Falls - Groundhogs might be cute, round, and fuzzy, but don't let that warm and cuddly exterior fool you. Inside lurks a merciless biter as one New Jersey couple found out. Gary McGrath and his wife were going about their day when they met IT. Groundhogzilla.

Meerkats have a 'sinister' side, scientists say. Who knew?

Johannesburg - Oh sure, meerkats look cute and cuddly — and they are, but when it comes to certain aspects of their lives, these pint-sized critters can be rather ruthless, scientists have found.

Opossum Drop: Animal cruelty for NC New Year's festivities Special

Brasstown - When most of us celebrate the New Year, opossums don't usually come to mind. However, in North Carolina and other areas in the South, some people think differently than we do.

Experts say global warming will make food less nutritious

With unprecedented global warming occurring worldwide, there are more than enough problems to go around. Now, evidence suggests there’s another unpleasant change that we will likely have to deal with.

Kryptodrakon progenitor pushes pterodactyl evolution back in time

Kryptodrakon progenitor, discovered in China, is the earliest known and most primitive pterosaur found to date, and the creature holds a few surprises.

Op-Ed: Bad PR and lies for new Qatar dolphin facility

Doha - A newly planned dolphin aquarium in Souq Waqif, Qatar, lied about a National Geographic sponsorship and then launched an incredible display of bad PR.

Op-Ed: Is NatGeo sponsoring company that purchases Taiji dolphins?

Doha - A new temporary lease dolphin show run by Ukrainian company NEMO or Nerum LLC, is opening in Qatar. According to the show, National Geographic is sponsoring their endeavors, despite NEMO's import of dolphins captured in the Taiji dolphin drives.

Fisherman wrestles a Shark in Nantucket, MA

Nantucket - A surfer fisherman in Nantucket, MA wrestled a shark off-shore after catching it in his fishing line this week. He released it, but only did so after capturing the fight on YouTube.

Op-Ed: Virus with its own immune system discovered

Sydney - Virology isn’t a subject for the weak-minded. The world’s most changeable forms of life keep coming up with new tricks, and this one, an actual arsenal of immune capability of viruses against immune responses, is a real eyeopener.

Op-Ed: The top 10 photos from National Geographic's Instagram feed

Some news outlets understand the value of social media. For months, iconic magazine National Geographic has been wowing its 984,000 fans on Instagram, where their photos feature breath-taking views of animals, people and places across the world.

Video: Super slow motion video of sprinting Cheetah

Cincinnati - Cheetahs can reach top speeds of 64 miles per hour, which makes capturing the grace and speed of such an animal on camera a spectacular feat.

Top 5 photos of animals in the womb

Scientists are showing us what other mammals look like in the womb, thanks to revolutionary four-dimensional scanning technology. Here are the top five photos of animals in their mothers' wombs.

Magazine unveils first ever complete views of Titanic wreck

Stunning images showing the legendary wreck of RMS Titanic are to be published in April's edition of National Geographic Magazine.

National Geographic's UFO hoax over Connecticut mall

Winsted - Photo and video analyst for Mutual UFO Network Marc Dantonio created a "quadcopter" for an upcoming National Geographic special, "The Truth Behind UFOs." The purpose was to show how technology can fool anyone into thinking they are seeing a real UFO.

Fisherman catches cyclops shark

An albino fetal cyclops shark, born with one eye, has been authenticated by scientists who examined the creepy but cute creature after it was caught by a commercial fisherman in the Gulf of California.

Experts: Lions could be extinct in 15 years Special

National Geographic Society's explorers-in-residence believe lions could become extinct in 15 years. Award-winning film-makers and conservationists Beverly and Dereck Joubert have been studying threatened big cats in Africa for 30 years.

Indigenous tribe from Peru stops Nat’l Geographic’s DNA sampling

Cusco - Indigenous leaders and local officials have stopped a plan by the National Geographic Society that would have allowed its geneticists to collect DNA samples from the Q’eros, a remote Peruvian tribe believed to have descended from the first Inca.

The Long Shadow of Chernobyl - 25 years after the disaster Special

National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig is determined the world’s worst nuclear accident should not be forgotten. And is returning to Chernobyl 25 years on to photograph the site and people who live and work there.

Lost world slowly yields secrets as several new species found

Arlington - At least a dozen previously unidentified (scientifically) animals were found in the Foja Mountains of New Guinea, an area called the 'lost world.'

Survey: India greenest of all countries

A survey conducted by the National Geographic Scoiety and GlobeScan has showed that Indians are nature's best friends, followed by Brazil and China. The least scorers were Americans, Canadians and Japanese.

National Geographic launches video games

The non-profit National Geographic Society will soon start its for-profit company, National Geographic Ventures, and will create video games with geography themes.

National Geographic says red-heads set for extinction

Genetic scientists warn that redheads are a dying breed; soon they will become extinct in the next 100 years. National Geographic magazine reports that less than two percent of the world’s population has the natural red hair.