Webcam screenshot via National Zoo

August 31st was a special day at the National Zoo -- four lion cubs were born! It is the first litter to a five-year-old lioness named Shera. But you don't have to be a visitor at the zoo to check out the tiny newborns.

A map of the planet's oldest living things, via Rachel Sussman

What are the oldest living things on the planet? If you're thinking 200-year-old tortoises, well, those are just whippersnappers compared to the organisms that give Methuselah a run for his money. Rachel Sussman has traveled the planet photographing living creatures that have celebrated at least their 2,000th birthday.

Photo via Virgin Media

Before your survival instinct kicks in and you grab a shoe to smack these spiders, beetles, snails, and other insects, keep in mind: They might be creepy, but that doesn't make them less important to the ecosystem.

Photo via kasei.co.uk

It turns out that a surprisingly high number of grade schools in Japan are serving their students more than just a well-rounded education.

Sharks are normally considered solitary hunters, but one

Photo from one of Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Boat Tours

In the past week, copious amounts of planktonic krill have drawn large groups of blue whales off the coast of Long Beach in Southern California.

Image Credit: Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo

If you've been to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Elephant being bathed in a temple in Thrissur (K.C. Sowmish via The Hindu)

As long-standing icons of its unique cultural psyche, India's threatened elephants are finally getting the protection -- and well-deserved recognition -- they need.

Photo via qmnonic

Nothing like a flood of minks loose in a country's already fragile ecosystem to put environmentalists in a tough spot. Two fur farms in northern Greece were raided, the results of which saw 50,000 minks running for the hills. Fortunately for everyone (except the minks) the problem could solve itself in a short time.

Photo via National Geographic

We've got a new regular slideshow here on TreeHugger: The Week in Animal Photos.