New research looked at human impacts on more than 5,000 threatened species and found that a quarter of them have almost nowhere left to go to escape from the threats posed by human development.
The first Fernandina giant tortoise seen in over 112 years.
Galapagos National Park Directorate
Chemical pollution and hunting pushed Ospreys to the edge of extinction in the mid-20th century. Today, they have rebounded and can be spotted worldwide, often nesting on manmade structures.
The pine marten – cute but cunning.
Karen Bullock/Flickr
How do you pack butterflies for shipping, or frogs for an overland hike to a new habitat? Three scientists explain how they keep threatened species safe on the road and in the air.
A female resident orca whale breaches while swimming in Puget Sound in January 2014.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Elaine Thompson
Noisy waters may be making it harder for southern resident killer whales to communicate with each other and find their food.
Some tropical frogs may be developing resistance to a fungus that has devastated species like Atelopus varius, the variable harlequin frog.
Brian Gratwicke/Wikimedia
Colombian researchers hope to revive an endangered species by rehabilitating monkeys confiscated from smugglers. The captive animals’ struggles show that survival is not guaranteed.
Female sage grouse at the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming.
USFWS/Tom Koerner
The Interior Department is expanding oil and gas leasing on land in six western states that is vital habitat for the greater sage grouse. Lawsuits are certain to follow.
The burrowing owl was once a common sight on the prairies. Now Saskatchewan and Alberta have fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs.
(Shutterstock)
Carving up ecosystems or opening them to development puts the survival of species at risk.
The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 partly to help save the bald eagle, the U.S. national symbol, from extinction. Should public appeal influence which species get priority?
Jitze Couperus
How should the US spend limited funds for conserving endangered species? A new data tool lets managers compare different strategies so they can allocate money to protect the most species.
The dingo, Australia’s largest mammalian carnivore, has a broad diet that varies across the continent.
Judy Dunlop
A survey of 32,000 samples of dingo droppings and stomach contents reveal that this predator’s appetite is as wide-ranging as Australia’s landscapes. But medium and large mammals are top of the menu.
Releasing a female wolf on Isle Royale, Oct. 2, 2018.
NPS/Jim Peaco
The National Park Service is moving wolves to Isle Royale in Lake Superior to replenish a small pack on the island. Wolves prey on moose, which are overgrazing the island. It doesn’t hurt that they are charismatic.
Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) at the Houston Zoo.
Josh Henderson
The fossa, Madagascar’s largest predator, is a cat-like carnivore that eats everything from insects to lemurs. Because they are rare and elusive, scientists know very little about them, including how many there are.
Oophaga andresii is one of the newly described species of Harlequin poison frog.
Jose Andrés
With their jewel-like colours, Colombia’s poison frogs are coveted by collectors. Does naming their species help protect them or make them a target for trophy hunters?
A Northern Spotted Owl in Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest.
AP Photo/Don Ryan, File
The Trump administration wants to step up logging, saying it will benefit wildlife by reducing forest fire risks. But wildfires create habitat for threatened Spotted Owls and many other species.
Cells that transmit nerve impulses in the part of elephants’ brains responsible for functions such as learning and memory are structured differently from those of any other mammal.
The endangered Coquerel’s Sifaka lemur.
Shutterstock/Monika Hrdinova
As attempts to water down the Endangered Species Act have accelerated, public support for the act has stayed high. Then why do politicians keep trying to weaken the act?
Australia could sustain wild rhinos, but should it try?
Renaud Fulconis/International Rhino Foundation