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 ...

The largest of the true foxes, red foxes are also the most widespread, found across the entire northern hemisphere. But secretive Sierra Nevada red foxes — genetically and geographically distinct from ...

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 ...

Can you think of a more destructive way to extract resources than blowing up a mountain? How about if the waste from doing it is dumped straight into mountain streams? Mountaintop removal is a radical ...

DESCRIPTION: The Newell's shearwater is a small to medium-sized shearwater measuring 12 to 14 inches with a wing span of 30 to 35 inches. Adults are dark, sooty brown on top contrasted by a striking ...

The resilient mountain lion goes by many names: puma, cougar, panther, catamount and even “ghost cat.” Over the past century in California, it has survived habitat loss and government-sponsored ...

Once considered a common western garden amphibian, the large, warty boreal toad has recently experienced dramatic population declines, suffering across its U.S. range from threats like habitat ...

Coquí frogs are cultural symbols in Puerto Rico, well known for the “ko-kee” call made by the common coquí, Eleutherodactylus coqui. In fact, 16 distinct species can be found on the island — and ...

Desert tortoises have lived in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah since the Pleistocene. In the early years of the 20th century, they still thrived within the Southwest's arid ...

The Klamath-Siskiyou region is world-renowned for its rich biodiversity; some of the plants and animals that live only here — such as the Siskiyou Mountains salamander and the closely related Scott ...

Our planet now faces a global extinction crisis never witnessed by humankind. Scientists predict that more than 1 million species are on track for extinction in the coming decades. But there’s still ...

The vast majority of western dry forests are at risk of large, high-intensity fire because of the effects of poor forest management over the past century. The primary factors that lead to current ...