Natural historian David Attenborough listens to speeches during the COP24 summit on climate change in Katowice, Poland, on Monday. Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
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Sir David Attenborough
A peacock butterfly in Hurworth-on-Tees, England, in 2013. Peacock butterflies are one of the species the Big Butterfly Count is tracking, with the help of citizen volunteers. Chris Golightly/Flickr hide caption
Paleoartist Peter Schouten's reconstruction of Microleo attenboroughi prowling along the branches of rain forest trees in search of prey. Peter Schouten/Courtesy of the University of New South Wales hide caption
After a spirited Internet response chose "Boaty McBoatface" as the name for a research ship, Britain's science minister said a more suitable name was needed. Department for Business, Innovation & Skills hide caption
Sir David Attenborough at the Beijing Museum of Natural History with fossil of Juramaia, as featured in the Smithsonian Channel series Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates. Courtesy Smithsonian Channel hide caption
In 'Rise Of Animals,' Sir David Attenborough Tells Story Of Vertebrates
Human evolution is an unfolding process with chapters yet to be written; no one really knows where we're going. But we can look back to earlier chapters, with ancestors like Australpithecus afarensis, including the individual we call "Lucy" (seen above), for an understanding of how evolution works and what has happened to us over time. Tim Boyle/Getty Images hide caption