The National Zoo's three giant pandas are set to return to China in December with no public signs the 50-year-old exchange agreement struck by President Richard Nixon will continue. The departure of the bears from the nation's capital would mean the only giant pandas left in America are at the Atlanta Zoo — and that agreement expires next year.

Explaining the draw of gawking at massive bears, a park ranger says, "You can follow the bears for years and really get to know their lives and their personalities and their soap operas."

Fall is tarantula mating time in the plains of southeastern Colorado. The small city of La Junta is celebrating the spiders' season of romance with its second annual tarantula festival.

Frederick Moorefield Jr., a deputy chief information officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, allegedly used an encrypted messaging app to discuss dogfighting with people across the U.S.

Experts believe high water temperatures are the most likely cause of the deaths in the lakes in the region. Temperatures since last week have exceeded 102 degrees Fahrenheit in the Tefe Lake region.

Authorities received a GPS alert of a bear attack, and once on the scene, found two deceased individuals and an aggressive bear.

The Biden's German shepherd, Commander, is a bit bite-y.

Wally doesn't bite, loves hugs and has a sizeable social media following. He made headlines (again) for being denied entry to a baseball stadium — but his owner tells NPR that's not the full story.

How do you deal with the heartbreak of losing a beloved pet? Our audience shares creative and inspiring ways to process grief — and celebrate the lives of our animal companions.

The male African plains zebra comes to Atlanta from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb says cars are killing animals, while highways cut off them off from their food sources and migration paths. His new book is Crossings.

The horseshoe crab bleeding industry is in transition. One biomedical company agreed to more oversight, and a regulatory group is paving the way for drug companies to use animal-free alternatives.

Through the rest of the month, the zoo is inviting the public to commemorate the departure of the three giant pandas who will return to China in December. A shutdown could kill the party's finale.

A 13-foot-8.5-inch male alligator was "humanely killed" and removed from the water, authorities said, after a local resident saw the reptile latching onto human remains in a Tampa Bay area canal.

There can be only one — and they shall be rotund. The brown bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska have been plumping themselves up, to prepare for a new hibernation season.