Jan. 24, 2022, (AP) -The rare ghost orchid faces mounting threats in Florida from poaching, loss of habitat and climate change and needs federal protection, environmental groups said Monday.

A petition filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asks that the orchid be placed under the Endangered Species Act and that its habitat in southern Florida be officially designated as critical to its recovery.

Jan. 21, 2022, (The Guardian) -Good news doesn’t get any more in-your-face than this. One thousand fin whales, one of the world’s biggest animals, were seen last week swimming in the same seas in which they were driven to near-extinction last century due to whaling. It’s like humans never happened.

Jan. 5, 2022, (Orlando Sentinel)-The record tally for manatee deaths in Florida shows that more than 1,100 of the threatened species died in 2021, according to an update from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The No. 1 reason cited was natural causes with 184 deaths followed by perinatal deaths at 110 and watercraft at 103, according to the FWC’s preliminary annual manatee mortality data.

Dec. 13, 2021, (The Revelator)- Can you imagine an ocean without sharks? That’s a distinct possibility in some parts of the world, as new research reveals that one third of chondrichthyan fish species — that’s sharks, skates, rays and chimeras — are now threatened with extinction.

Dec. 13, 2021, (The Guardian)- Conservation documents for more than half of Australia’s critically endangered species and habitats fail to mention climate change according to new analysis that argues there is a significant “climate gap” in the management of Australia’s threatened wildlife.

Dec. 12, 2021, (Orlando Sentinel)- There’s no way to pretend Florida’s manatees aren’t endangered. They are. In every sense of the word.

The official tally of deaths this year stands at 1,038 (as of Dec. 3 — more have died since then). That’s more than twice the annual average of the last five years — and nearly one-sixth of the entire population of manatees in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. In one year.

Dec. 10, 2021, (ZME Science)-There are hundreds of mollusk species living in the deep sea and about two-thirds of them could face extinction if the plans to mine the seabed continue as planned, a new study reports. The findings already triggered reactions, with 184 mollusk species living near hydrothermal vents added to the global list of threatened species.

Dec. 9, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity)-An update released today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that more than a quarter of plants and animals around the globe are threatened with extinction.

The new IUCN Red List identifies more than 40,000 species as threatened, out of around 140,000 species for which there’s enough information to determine conservation status.

Nov. 29, 2021, (Treehugger)- Not much is known about the saola, a mysterious horned mammal native to forests in the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam. At least one thing seems fairly certain, though: The saola is a very endangered species.

It’s unclear exactly how many saolas exist, and there is scant information on which to base even loose estimates...

Nov. 17, 2021, (NBC NEWS) -There is a ray of hope for the vanishing orange-and-black Western monarch butterflies.

The number wintering along California’s central coast is bouncing back after the population, whose presence is often a good indicator of ecosystem health, reached an all-time low last year. Experts pin their decline on climate change, habitat destruction and lack of food due to drought.

Nov. 16, 2021, (FOX11l)-Fox spoke with Beth Pratt, one of the people behind the effort to build a dedicated wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills.

Nov. 15, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity)-The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine and cancer-linked pesticide glyphosate are each likely to harm more than 1,000 of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals.

The finalized evaluations found that use of the herbicide glyphosate is likely causing harm to 1,676 of the plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Atrazine is likely harming 1,013 protected species.

Nov. 15, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity)-The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) just reached a legal agreement with the Port of Seattle that will help the area’s critically endangered Southern Resident orcas.

After CBD sued two federal agencies to defend the whales from a Seattle Harbor expansion plan, port authorities intervened. Now they’ve agreed to include more environmental protections.

Nov. 17, 2021, (ZME Science)-One in six birds in Europe has disappeared, according to a survey that compared today’s bird populations in Europe to those in the 1980s. Overall, the continent lost about 600 million birds.

While not as known as climate change, biodiversity is also facing a deep crisis, with researchers repeatedly emphasizing that we’re causing a sixth mass extinction.

Nov. 11, 2021, (earth.com)- A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports has examined how whale watching boats with louder engines impact short finned pilot whales. Previous research suggests that boats can change whale behavior. The impact of boat noise on toothed whales remains uncertain, however, and there are no regulations on the noise levels of whale watching boats.

Nov. 3, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity)- The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to protect two populations of imperiled speckled dace under the Endangered Species Act.

The Service failed to make required decisions on protection for the Santa Ana speckled dace, in Southern California, and the Long Valley speckled dace in Mono County, which is nearing extinction in the wild.

Oct. 26, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity), -The Biden administration announced today it will rescind two Trump regulations. One Trump rule severely limits the government’s ability to protect habitat that imperiled animals and plants need to survive and recover. The second opened up the exclusion of habitat from protection based on trumped-up economic claims.

“We’re relieved that the Biden administration has taken this important step toward restoring critical protections for imperiled species,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s just no way to save animals and plants from extinction without safeguarding the places they need to live.”

Oct. 21, 2021, (ZME Science) -Researchers will stop harvesting eggs from one of the two remaining northern white rhinoceros in the world, according to a Thursday announcement by BioRescue, according to the AFP.

Efforts to bring the species back from the brink of extinction are still underway. Currently, BioRescue is focusing on extracting eggs from the two remaining northern white rhino females. However, the scientific consortium announced on Thursday that one of the females, 32-year-old Najin, will be retired as a donor from the project.

Oct. 18, 2021, (INHABITAT) -This is according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances on October 13. The study, conducted by Cody Clements and Mark Hay of the Georgia Institute of Technology, found that increasing coral reefs’ richness by ‘outplanting’ diverse species of corals could improve coral reef growth and survival.

Oct. 14, 2021, (NY Times Climate Forward) -As 20,000 government leaders, journalists, activists and celebrities from around the world prepare to descend on Glasgow for a crucial climate summit starting late this month, another high-level international environmental meeting got started this week. The problem it seeks to tackle: A rapid collapse of species and systems that collectively sustain life on earth.

The stakes at the two meetings are equally high, many leading scientists say, but the biodiversity crisis has received far less attention.

Oct. 14, 2021, (Herald-Tribune)-Maine’s beloved puffins suffered one of their worst years for reproduction in decades this summer due to a lack of the small fish they eat.

Puffins are seabirds with colorful beaks that nest on four small islands off the coast of Maine. There are about 1,500 breeding pairs in the state, and they are dependent on fish such as herring and sand lance to be able to feed their young.

Oct. 14, 2021, (ZME Science)-Because of how sensitive they are to changes in their environment, birds are a perfect indicator for gauging biodiversity. If they are in danger, we all likely are. In Europe, one out of five bird species is currently threatened by extinction, while one out of three has declined over the last few decades, according to BirdLife International.

Oct. 8, 2021, (Center for Biological Diversity), -The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent today to sue the Biden administration if it does not immediately reexamine the offshore oil industry’s threat to California’s endangered species and their habitats.

Today’s letter, sent to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, notes that the government’s existing Endangered Species Act analysis failed to predict or plan for an oil spill as big as the ongoing disaster in Southern California’s San Pedro Bay.

Oct. 8, 2021, (The Revelator), by Helen Tan-The natural world is so fantastically bizarre. Protecting and understanding its often strange-to-us biodiversity is one of the reasons I became a conservation scientist.

Over the years I’ve come to accept the fact that I probably won’t be able to see all the world’s wonderfully weird critters in person, especially those that are incredibly rare or found only in the farthest reaches of this world. It’s much harder to come to terms with the reality that I may never see many of these animals, not because they’re difficult to access, but because they’ll be extinct before I get the chance.

Sep. 28, 2021, (NY Times Climate Forward)-The ivory-billed woodpecker, which birders have been seeking in the bayous of Arkansas, is gone forever, according to federal officials. So is the Bachman’s warbler, a yellow-breasted songbird that once migrated between the Southeastern United States and Cuba. The song of the Kauai O’o, a Hawaiian forest bird, exists only on recordings. And there is no longer any hope for several types of freshwater mussels that once filtered streams and rivers from Georgia to Illinois.

In all, 22 animals and one plant should be declared extinct and removed from the endangered species list, federal wildlife officials announced on Wednesday.

Sep. 19, 2021, (The Guardian), -A swarm of bees has killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach outside Cape Town, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds said.

The protected birds were found dead in Simon’s Town, a small town near Cape Town home to a colony of penguins, and taken for postmortems.

Sep. 14, 2021, (The Guardian), -Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed.

The Sea Shepherd Group, which has been campaigning to stop the traditional Faroese “Grind” hunt since the 1980s, has claimed Sunday’s hunt was “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”, with more animals perishing than in an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan.

Sep. 3, 2021, (ENN Network)-The first comprehensive list of the threats to Australia’s most endangered plants and animals reveals blunt news about the future for some of the country’s favorite species.

The University of Queensland-led study has compiled a data set, listing the threats to Australian species from habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation.

Michelle Ward, a PhD candidate at UQ’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences said while it painted a grim picture for many plants and animals, it was not all bad news.

Sep. 1, 2021, (ZME Science)-Birds of prey are declining all throughout the world, according to new research, putting the health of ecosystems at risk. Habitat destruction is the main driver of this decline.

The paper analyzed data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and BirdLife International, a global partnership of non-governmental organizations involved in the conservation of birds and their habitat. Overall, the data showed that around 50% of the 577 bird of prey (raptor) species worldwide are declining in number. Roughly 30% are threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, with 18 species falling into the latter category.

Sep. 1, 2021, (ScienceNews)-Much of the Amazon’s biodiversity is under fire — literally.

In the last two decades, deforestation and forest fires have encroached on the ranges of thousands of plant and animal species in the Amazon rainforest, including up to 85% of threatened species in the region, researchers report September 1 in Nature.

The extent of the damage is closely tied to the enforcement, or lack thereof, of regulations in Brazil aimed at protecting the forest from widespread logging as well as the fires often used to clear open space in the forest and other encroachments. The findings illustrate the key role that forest use regulations have in the fate of the Amazon rainforest, the researchers argue.

Aug. 27, 2021, (DW News)- The Ebo forest in the Congo Basin is the second largest tropical rainforest in the world, after the Amazon Basin. It covers about 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) in Cameroon, and is home to rare primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas that are targeted by poachers.

The Ebo Forest Research Project was launched eight years ago by scientists from Cameroon and the United States. They are working in close cooperation with three communities in the forest to protect these endangered animals. By joining the Gorilla Friends Club, villagers can participate in monitoring the forest, where a new subspecies of gorilla has been found. They follow the animals' movement based on their droppings, tracks and nests and using camera traps.

Aug. 26, 2021 (Center for Biological Diversity),-The bringer of this article announced its intent today to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to propose Endangered Species Act protection for 19 foreign wildlife species. The species, which include five butterflies, 13 birds and a clam, are parked on the Service’s “candidate” wait list, where some have lingered unprotected for over 30 years.

In early August the Service acknowledged that all 19 animals warrant Endangered Species Act safeguards but claimed protection for them was “precluded” by other agency work. The agency added only one foreign species to the ESA and removed none during the fiscal years of 2019 and 2020. But when the agency had a similar budget under the Obama administration it averaged five listing actions a year. Despite conservationists’ hopes that the Biden administration would clear the backlog, the Service has protected only two foreign species since President Biden’s inauguration.

Aug. 25, 2021 (The Guardian),-Beavers will be released into the wild under government proposals to support a “cautious” return of the semi-aquatic mammals to English rivers.

The native animals will also be given legal protection in England, making it an offense to deliberately capture, kill, disturb or injure them, or damage their breeding sites or resting places, as part of efforts to support their recovery.

Aug. 24, 2021, (DW News) -The Ebo forest in the Congo Basin is the second largest tropical rainforest in the world, after the Amazon Basin. It covers about 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) in Cameroon, and is home to rare primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas that are targeted by poachers.

The Ebo Forest Research Project was launched eight years ago by scientists from Cameroon and the United States. They are working in close cooperation with three communities in the forest to protect these endangered animals. By joining the Gorilla Friends Club, villagers can participate in monitoring the forest, where a new subspecies of gorilla has been found. They follow the animals' movement based on their droppings, tracks and nests and using camera traps.

Aug. 8, 2021 (Herald-Tribune) -A native plant called running buffalo clover that had been considered extinct is being removed from the federal endangered species list after bouncing back in a half-dozen states east of the Mississippi River, officials said Thursday.

Aug. 3, 2021 (THE CONVERSATION) -Emperor penguins thrive on Antarctica’s coastlines in icy conditions any human would find extreme. Yet, like Goldilocks, they have a narrow comfort zone: If there’s too much sea ice, trips to bring food from the ocean become long and arduous, and their chicks may starve. With too little sea ice, the chicks are at risk of drowning.

Climate change is now putting that delicate balance and potentially the entire species at risk.

Can the Endangered Species Act save them?

July 28, 2021 (The Revelator) -The Isabelline Serotine bat (Eptesicus isabellinus) ranges across areas north of the Sahara and into the southern portion of the Iberian Peninsula. But it may be time for the species to start packing its bags.

A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation found that dozens of bat species living in parts of the world predicted to get hotter and drier with climate change will need to shift their ranges to find suitable habitat. For Isabelline Serotine bats that could mean a big move — more than 1,000 miles, the researchers determined.

July 28, 2021 (Center for Biological Diversity) -The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife will hold a legislative hearing Thursday to review more than a dozen conservation bills, which would provide millions of dollars in long-overdue funding for protecting and recovering critically endangered species and ecosystems.

“The global extinction crisis is ravaging life on earth, so it’s heartening to see Congress begin to address the devastating decline of wildlife,” said Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These bills offer real hope that help is finally on the way for some of our most neglected and endangered animals and plants.”

The Extinction Prevention Act (H.R. 3396), for example, would create four grant programs. Each would provide $5 million per year to fund crucial conservation work for some of the most critically imperiled species in the United States: North American butterflies, freshwater mussels, desert fish and Hawaiian plants.

July 28, 2021 (ZME Science) - Although few people have actually seen coral reefs, most of us are aware that they do exist — at least at some level. We know that somewhere in the sea, there are these large, magnificent structures called coral reefs. But after pretty pictures and vague ideas about their environment, our collective imagination usually stops.

In his book, Coral Reefs: Majestic Realms under the Sea, marine ecologist Peter F. Sale takes a deep dive into the world of coral reefs. Drawing from his own research and the work of others, Sale walks us through what we know about corals, how we know it, and (perhaps most importantly) why corals are under grave threat — because of human activity.

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants aims to ensure the long-term conservation and welfare of Africa’s elephants in the context of human needs and pressures through scientific research, training, community outreach, public awareness and advocacy.

An international Animal Conservation Charity in Conjunction with Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks.

Mission: to halt extinction of rare and endangered species and return them to the wild where possible.

It's the longest-running and most successful conservation project dedicated to cheetah survival.

Their signature programs, addressing human-wildlife conflict, livelihood development, education and habitat restoration, have stabilized the wild cheetah population of Namibia – the world’s largest — and have helped launch sister programs in several other cheetah range countries. None of this would not be possible without you.

Joel Sartore has traveled the world for more than 25 years, photographing subjects from tiny to terrifying.

These images are not to be missed.

Born from one family’s passion for Kenya and its wilderness, the Trust is today the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and one of the pioneering conservation organizations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is dedicated to the conservation, protection and study of gorillas and their habitats in Africa. Our successful, integrated approach includes close collaboration with local governments and communities as well as partners from around the world

Explore 15,000 of the world’s endangered species. With over 100,000 photos and videos, discover what these animals, plants and fungi look like, what makes them special and why we should protect them.

The EDGE of Existence program is the only global conservation initiative to focus specifically on threatened species that represent a significant amount of unique evolutionary history.

See article upon article covering threats to the endangered natural world.

Set up to address fish & wildlife, hunting and game mamagement, fisheries, law enforcement, habitat ans species conservation and more.

We're counting on the commitment of our members to help our fight to uphold the Endangered Species Act and defend the wild plants, animals and places we all love.

The Endangered Species Act has an unmatched record of success and has put hundreds of species on the path to recovery, but countless plants and animals are still clinging to existence. Their futures depend on the Center for Biological Diversity and the strength of the Endangered Species Act, and we depend on you.

World of the Wild is a unique game that gives users an opportunity to participate in fun gameplay while contributing to real life wildlife conservation efforts. This app gamifies the concept of saving animals and allows you to rescue, rehabilitate and care for animals and habitats within your own carefully crafted world. Each animal in the app represents a real-life charity!

Partnered with 18 charities, World of the Wild offers unique facts and pop quizzes and will allow users to rescue animals in need! The game will empower the global community and transform online culture while restoring the natural world. It's a change to the status quo; utilising online activism to achieve tangible results in conservation.

The (NWPR) is a 22,000 square foot office and warehouse located northeast of Denver, Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The facility is responsible for receiving wildlife items that have been forfeited or abandoned to the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service.

By law, these items are stored in a secure environment, many of which are donated to educational facilities, nonprofit organizations, and conservation agencies to aid in teaching about endangered species and other wildlife.

Learn about the earth's species and how they are endangered.

Planet Earth teems with life. And now you can meet some of its stars!

Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species.

Humans are generating climate-altering greenhouse gases at a rate that will forever alter our world’s ecosystem...

There Statement: “It’s very simple: We cannot condone the dilution of the role of science in protecting endangered and threatened wildlife,” said WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper.