The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales. Once common along the eastern U.S. seaboard, the whale was hunted to near-extinction by the 1750s. While no longer pursued ...

DESCRIPTION: The giant Palouse earthworm can reach three feet or more in length, has light-pink skin, and emits a unique, sweet fragrance. HABITAT: This species inhabits permanent or semipermanent ...

A sweeping look across southeastern California's Algodones Dunes betrays little but a wide expanse of rolling dunes and deep-blue desert sky. But just at and beneath the surface of the shifting sands, ...

DESCRIPTION: The Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly has a checkered pattern on its wings with dark brown, red, orange, white, and black spots and lines. Rust-colored hairs cover its head, and ...

At the Center for Biological Diversity, we use path-breaking law, organizing and creative media to demand swift and just action from the federal government that reins in climate pollution from the ...

The northern long-eared bat — distinguishable from its close relatives, as one might presume, by its long ears — is a small bat associated with mature, interior forest environments. Unlike most other ...

For three decades, desert nesters were closely managed as the distinct population they are, bringing the population back from three reproducing nests in 1970 — truly the brink of extinction — to 43 ...

“Pond turtle” is something of a misnomer, because this reptile more frequently lives in rivers and spends a lot of time in terrestrial habitats. As the West Coast's only native freshwater turtle, the ...

Native to the Gila River basin, the loach minnow and spikedace are adapted to the beautiful yet vulnerable ecology of southwestern desert rivers. These rare, pint-sized fish are just two of many river ...

The word jaguar comes from the South American Tupi and Guarani languages. A likely origin is the word yaguareté, meaning “true, fierce beast.” DESCRIPTION: The largest cat native to North America and ...

An analysis of oil and gas pipeline safety in the United States reveals a troubling history of spills, contamination, injuries and deaths. This time-lapse video shows pipeline incidents from 1986 to ...

The big, beautiful Andean flamingo is one of three flamingo species native to the Andes. A relatively long-lived bird, this flamingo can travel vast distances — from 200 to more than 700 miles in a ...