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Meet the pioneers and unsung heroes who are addressing environmental challenges at both local and global scales, and see what hope for a more sustainable future looks like.

Good Medicine 07.05.2023 Spotlight - In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, veterinarians provide a crucial helping hand in the recovery of one of the world’s most endangered creatures.
© Radim Schreiber The Galaxy in the Woods 07.05.2023 Article - As more people flock to see fireflies, scientists are trying to harness their enthusiasm without harming the bioluminescent wonder they’ve come to see.
The Big Picture 2023 06.15.2023 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre and breathtaking, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
A group of male African lions rests in the Masai-Mara Game Reserve, Kenya, as storm clouds build overhead. Photograph by Denis-Huot Africa’s Conservation Conundrum 05.15.2023 Article - The trophy hunting industry in Africa is dying, and that should concern all of us. What, if anything, replaces it will prove critical for the protection of the continent’s wildlife and wild places.
Toothy Transport 02.14.2023 Spotlight - South America’s broad-snouted caiman is a fierce mother—and has been fiercely mothered back into abundance.
The Newt Normal 01.13.2023 Photo Essay - Droughts, wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events are putting an unprecedented strain on California newts. With help, scientists think these remarkable animals will be able to persevere.
Like other salmon, sockeye die after spawning, providing important nutrients to surrounding ecosystems. Trouble at Sea 01.11.2023 Article - For salmon in the North Pacific, has the ocean reached its limit?
Two Iberian lynx peer over rocky outcrops. Photograph by Andoni Canela Bounding Toward Recovery 01.03.2023 Article - The Iberian lynx—one of the world’s most endangered cats—made a giant leap toward a comeback in just a few years, easing the way for other species to follow in its path.
Learning from the Ancients 11.22.2022 Opinion, Review - In his latest book, Elderflora, Jared Farmer chronicles a history of exploration and study, destruction and preservation that will keep humans and age-old trees intertwined for the long haul.
A lone dragon’s blood tree in the Momi Valley of Socotra. Photograph by Neil Lucas Saving the Dragon’s Blood 10.12.2022 Article - Despite a range of threats, from droughts and cyclones to goats and militarization, Socotra's iconic trees are staging a slow, patient comeback—with the help of the people who know them best.
Forest Orphans 10.12.2022 Spotlight - Swaddled symbols of hope and regeneration, orphaned flying foxes rest up and grow, preparing for their role as some of Australia’s most important forest stewards.
A Way Forward with Wolves 09.10.2022 Article - Washington state’s long-running conflict between wolves and ranchers mirrors our society’s bigger ideological rifts. Some are trying to bridge the gap—using both horse and technology.
The Saguaro Solution 08.18.2022 Article - Can a massive effort to replant cacti in the Sonoran Desert restore an ecosystem ravaged by fire?
The Big Picture 2022 The Big Picture 2022 06.08.2022 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
Methow Valley resident Ken Bevis salvages a deer recently struck by a car. Atonement in the Kitchen 06.03.2022 Article - One way to make sense of the senseless slaughter of roadkill? Salvage it for food.
A greater one-horned rhino surveys its terrain in Kaziranga National Park, India. Photograph by Anup Shah To Rewild a Rhino 05.10.2022 Article - In northeastern India, taking care of a vulnerable species also means looking after the humans who live alongside it.
Kids from the Wemmershoek School observe a Cape galaxias caught during a citizen science outing on the Wemmershoek River near Cape Town. The tiny Cape galaxias, endemic to the region, is one of the most ancient lineages of fynbos fish, dating back to the time of Gondwanaland. Clear Water Revival 05.02.2022 Photo Essay - In a biodiversity wonderland hardly known outside South Africa, a decades-long effort to restore native fish and their streams is starting to pay off—but new trouble could undermine this fragile comeback.
Ghana’s Sacred Monkeys 04.19.2022 Article - Myth and mystery have long protected two species of monkey and the West African forests they depend on, but for how much longer?
Breakfast with a Garbage Bin Breakfast with a “Garbage Bin” 12.02.2021 Spotlight - Socotra’s gregarious Egyptian vultures are a bright spot in an otherwise sobering global story.
Christine Shreves of Wellfleet, Massachusetts finds a Kemp's ridley sea turtle at Great Hollow Beach on Cape Cod in November. Each fall and winter on the inner shores of Cape Cod, endangered sea turtles wash up, stunned by the cold ocean temperatures and confused by the cape’s hook-like geography. With the help from volunteers and biologists at Mass Audubon, the New England Aquarium, and rehabilitation centers, the turtles are rescued, rehabilitated, and flown to warmer waters. When Turtles Fly 11.30.2021 Article - A massive human-assisted migration lands stranded sea turtles back in warmer seas.
Nomads of the North 11.24.2021 Photo Essay - A writer and photographer shares an intimate portrait of the annual migration and uncertain future of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
Letters Between Trees 09.09.2021 Article - With a pandemic and record-breaking fire season raging, two individuals, seemingly worlds apart, find solace in their connections with one another and within the ecosystems they call home.
Heeding the Pandemic’s Warnings 08.27.2021 Article - While wildlife trafficking receives more media attention, experts are urging global leaders to clamp down on legal wildlife trade and the significant disease threats it poses.
Starling-Studded Skies 07.13.2021 Photo Essay - A modern approach to a 19th-century photography technique celebrates both the art and science behind one of the planet’s most mesmerizing spectacles.
What it Means to be Wild 07.08.2021 Opinion, Review - Against the backdrop of a world so thoroughly altered by humankind, Emma Marris's latest book, Wild Souls, challenges our assumptions about nature and how we protect it.
Mexican wolf "M1296" walks off a sedative after being processed and released back into the field during a January 2016 annual Mexican wolf count based out of Alpine, Arizona. After receiving vaccinations and a new GPS collar, M1296 was reacquainted with his mate not far from where he was initially captured. Photograph by Christina Selby Into the Wild 06.18.2021 Article - North America’s rarest wolf subspecies is finally reclaiming its native territory in the Southwest, thanks in part to a fostering program that places captive-born pups into wild dens.
The Big Picture 2021 05.27.2021 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
The Espinhaço mountains are centers of endemism and diversity for several groups of flora and fauna, including hummingbirds. Here, a white-vented violetear approaches the flowers of a Stachytarpheta glabra in Sempre Vivas National Park to feed on their nectar. Life, Death, and Renewal in the Campo Rupestre 04.22.2021 Photo Essay - In a little-known region of Brazil that calls to mind Tolkien’s Middle-earth, unique lifeforms have evolved to endure innumerable environmental challenges. Can they survive the country's latest era of deregulation?
Lew Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya—© Ami Vitale Extraordinary Animals and the People Who Love Them 03.29.2021 Review - The new book Beloved Beasts hacks through the undergrowth of the conservation movement in search of a clear path forward.
With the lighthouse peninsula in the background, a male tule elk stands on a bluff in the Tule Elk Preserve at Point Reyes National Seashore. Home on the Range 03.23.2021 Article - Once thought to be extinct, tule elk have returned to roam across California's Point Reyes National Seashore, but the park—which also supports beef and dairy cattle—is getting crowded.
Scales of Reference - sockeye salmon Scales of Reference 03.11.2021 Article - Collected at the tail end of British Columbia's "silver fever," hundred-year-old salmon scales are now helping conservation scientists reconstruct and better manage the populations of one of Canada's most important fish.
How to Count a Wolf How to Count a Wolf 02.25.2021 Video - The first step in managing a rare and controversial predator—particularly in a state where it's been absent for decades—is knowing how many you have. That’s easier said than done with a species as elusive as this one.
Of the world’s 19 species of storks, the greater adjutant is the most endangered in the world. In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated the global population at just 800-1200 individuals. From Reviled to Adored 02.23.2021 Photo Essay - How one community—and one woman in particular—have found a way to protect the rarest stork in the world simply by learning to appreciate the species and embracing it as one of their own.
A gibbon that rangers have named Ama makes her way through the canopy. These daily and necessary movements become increasingly difficult when large trees are cut down to create sunny patches on the forest floor for crops like tsaoko. A New Hope 01.27.2021 Photo Essay - Discovered a mere four years ago, the Skywalker gibbon quickly landed on the list of the world's 25 most endangered primates. While its status remains precarious, the species is inspiring a newfound effort to protect and restore the forests of…
Susanna Tuffy, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator from Duxbury, Massachusetts, feeds a baby squirrel from inside her bathroom window. Tuffy cares for about 60 animals a year in her home. The Other COVID Nurses 01.01.2021 Photo Essay - Caring for sick and injured wildlife has always been challenging, but during the pandemic, for many rehabilitators, it has become a grueling, 24/7 labor of love.
Olms are aquatic, cave-dwelling salamanders found beneath the Dinaric Alps of southern and southeastern Europe. Saving Slovenia’s “Human Fish” 12.15.2020 Article - Scientists in this Central European country are leading the charge to understand and protect a charismatic, cave-dwelling salamander—and the subterranean habitats that supply much of the region's drinking water.
A lesser whistling duck forages in Pallikaranai Marsh. Chennai Ran Out of Water — But That’s Only Half the Story 10.30.2020 Article - To reduce flooding and bridge droughts, India’s southern coastal metropolis is using ancient knowledge, community action, and wetlands restoration to harness its monsoon rains.
A male Hainan black-crested gibbon hangs from a branch in the Bawangling National Nature Reserve in Changjiang, South China's Hainan Province. Photograph by Xinhua News Agency The Gibbon’s Tail 10.14.2020 Article - For the world’s rarest ape, survival may depend on stories passed down for centuries among the people of its Chinese island home.
Laurent Lollis looks out over a herd at Buck Island Ranch, with his father, Gene Lollis, in the background. Buck Island Ranch is owned by Archbold Biological Station and is a leading site for rangelands science, including biodiversity and carbon cycling research. Recent studies have shown that grazing of grasses in the humid soils increases the carbon sequestration by the roots. Raising Nature on Florida Ranchlands 08.11.2020 Article - “Rancher vs Environmentalist” has been a longstanding trope. But in the Sunshine State, ranching just may be the last, best hope for ecological salvation.
Wanted Alive 07.14.2020 Spotlight - For the first time in decades, Icelandic whalers have stopped hunting fin whales, thanks in part to a growing appreciation for the value these mammals bring to both marine and human communities.
Common toads mating in the Lez River, France The Big Picture 2020 05.05.2020 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
Hooded grebe in Patagonia Standing Guard 12.24.2019 Photo Essay - The population of this critically endangered bird has stabilized thanks to the conservationists who look after them, but what happens if the caretakers leave?
Mexico City and its Sacred Salamanders Mexico City and its Sacred Salamanders 12.10.2019 Video - Important symbols of both Mexican culture and ecosystem health, axolotls are on the brink of extinction in the wild, but a return to ancient practices offers hope for their future.
Protest signs like this one in a field in Little Valley, Virginia line the proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Photograph by Steven David Johnson A (Proposed) Pipeline Runs Through It 12.03.2019 Article - The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would divide mountains, farmland, and sacred Native American land along its 600-mile route, but it's uniting a diverse community of activists determined to halt its progress.
Restoring Harmony in Haida Gwaii 10.15.2019 Article - A collaboration between Haida tradition and Western science may offer a way to bolster both Haida culture and the marine ecosystem intertwined with it.
Bobcat Manor 08.14.2019 Photo Essay - Despite increasing hunting pressure, bobcats have proven themselves to be remarkably resilient in the face of human encroachment—and aren’t above raising their young in rural backyards.
Pangolin Handle With Care 06.26.2019 Spotlight - For one of the most heavily persecuted creatures on the planet, protection sometimes requires a very hands-on approach.
Aerial view of the Kupeke fishpond along Molokai’s southeast shoreline. Photograph by Mickey Pauole Hawaii’s Ancient Aquaculture Revival 06.12.2019 Article - In an ocean state that now imports half of its seafood, a determined group of activists is restoring the age-old aquaculture practices of Native Hawaiians.
<strong>Taking Center Stage by Audun Rikardsen</strong><em>—Grand Prize Winner</em> <p>While the beauty of Norway’s spectacular northern coastline might be lost on this male black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), the prime vantage point offered by its perch is certainly not. For a ground-dwelling bird known for exuberant territorial displays during the breeding season, what better place to see and be seen than this branch, which provides an eagle’s-eye perspective of the terrain below. What initially drew photographer Audun Rikardsen to this spot high above the sea was, in fact, a resident golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) that frequented the perch. Having constructed a blind nearby, Rikardsen spent many frigid winter days photographing the eagle. But by spring, it had been replaced by a new subject: a black grouse in proud display. Not only did the grouse quickly become accustomed to Rikardsen’s rapidly firing camera shutter and flash, he says, it was almost as if the bird enjoyed being in the spotlight.</p> The Big Picture 2019 04.30.2019 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
prawns Protected by Prawns 03.17.2019 Video - Restoring native crustaceans along West Africa’s Senegal River may be a critical step in controlling one of the world’s deadliest tropical diseases.
The Unsung Reef 01.25.2019 Photo Essay - Australia's corals may get all the headlines, but the country's kelp-dominated temperate reefs are at least as important and imperiled. Now they're finally getting the restoration focus they deserve.
A male Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) displays in forest canopy of Varirata National Park, Papua New Guinea. Photograph by Nick Garbutt Where the Rainforest Meets the Road 01.08.2019 Article - Community-led conservation has taken root in a remote corner of Papua New Guinea. Now the plan’s architects must ensure that ecological protection and economic prosperity can coexist.
An Indian flying fox peers out of the leaves of a date palm tree in India’s West Bengal, just across the border with Bangladesh. Photograph by Dhritiman Mukherjee The Reservoir 12.12.2018 Article - In Bangladesh, a bat-borne virus you've probably never heard of is poised to become the next pandemic—and medicine alone may not be sufficient to stop it. Is an ecological intervention the answer?
Western Grey Kangaroos— Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) Raising Joey 08.27.2018 Spotlight - Kangaroo Island’s iconic animals are orphaned all too often by speeding cars. But a dedicated group of volunteers is working to save as many survivors as possible.
Isolated in the Pacific, the island of Nauru, world's smallest republic, was once world's richest country because of phosphate resources. Nauru holds currently diabetes and obesity highest levels though weightlifting is the national sport. By the Skin of His Teeth 05.08.2018 Spotlight - On the island of Nauru, a young noddy hunter practices a skill that’s been passed down for centuries—one that now requires more patience.
The Big Picture 2018 05.01.2018 Photo Gallery - From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places.
A Grand Experiment on the Grasslands 03.13.2018 Immersive - A decades-long debate over protection of the lesser prairie-chicken could usher the Endangered Species Act into a new and very different era.
Life Stories 11.07.2017 Opinion - In today’s world, solutions-based science and environment stories aren’t just a pleasant diversion—they’re a critical step toward a healthy future for our species.
Members of Pilot’s family stand at the gate of his new boma. Lion Guardians 04.11.2017 Photo Essay - With human-wildlife conflicts on the rise across East Africa, Kenya’s iconic predators find some unlikely allies.
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) swimming in s motion, Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean. Graceful Giant 03.21.2017 Spotlight - Their record-setting heft doesn't stop blue whales from being surprisingly sinuous swimmers.
Darwin's Fox (Pseudalopex fulvipes) portrait, in temperate rainforest, Chiloe Island, Chile, November, Critically Endangered Darwin’s Fox 02.07.2017 Spotlight - His finches may be more famous, but this small fox also helped Darwin develop his revolutionary theory of evolution.
The Catch with Unreported Fish Catches 01.31.2017 Opinion - Millions of tons of fish caught each year go unreported, and that impacts our ability to manage fisheries sustainably—but not in the way you might expect.
Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) portrait. Red Sea, Egypt. October. For the Love of Fish Lips 01.18.2017 Spotlight - In a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale, a fish’s lips have become both its most prized asset and its greatest liability.
maggot timelapse Maggot Revolution 01.18.2017 Article - Agricultural entrepreneurs want to solve the planet’s livestock-feed crisis by farming insect larvae. Will their scheme fly?
Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) breaching in front of large ship during sardine run, East London, South Africa, June. Ahead of the Curve 01.10.2017 Spotlight - A dolphin frolics unperturbed in the bow wave of one of the open ocean’s clumsier and less-efficient seafarers.
Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) winter migratory bird, fisheye perspective of feeding cranes. Khichan, Western Rajasthan, India. February 2015 Bird’s-eye View 12.27.2016 Spotlight - What began as the seasonal arrival of just a few dozen cranes has become one of India’s most renowned wildlife spectacles.
caterpillar Invisible Nature: Invasion of the Caterpillars 12.27.2016 Video - Gypsy moths have been gaining ground in North American forests for 150 years. Can a caterpillar-melting virus keep them in check?
Bronze whaler shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus), caught in traditional seine net and released by fisherman, Muizenberg beach, Cape Town, South Africa, January 2014 The Return of Jaws 11.29.2016 Spotlight - A brave fisherman drags a mighty fish-out-of-water back to the relative safety of the sea.
zika mosquito The Zika Challenge 08.17.2016 Opinion - As we look for ways to prevent the world’s latest mosquito-borne disease, our focus on the mosquitoes themselves might be obscuring a more sustainable solution.
Long leaf pine habitat in the gamelands outside Southern Pines, NC. The Birds and the Bombs 06.28.2016 Article - The fate of the Southeast's longleaf pine forests, and the endangered woodpeckers that depend on them, may rest in the hands of the U.S. military.
After being confiscated from poachers and rehabilitated, a Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) awaits release into Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam. Taking Pangolin off the Menu 05.10.2016 Photo Essay - Without the tireless efforts of local conservation heroes, one of the most heavily trafficked animals on the planet might just go extinct—before you even know it exists.
Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) slung from Super Huey Bell helicopter Great Fish River Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape Province SOUTH AFRICA A viable breeding population of 15 animals being relocated to an undisclosed destination. ENDANGERED SPECIES. CITES 1 Rhino Relocation 05.10.2016 Spotlight - To protect rhinos from poachers, conservation workers have taken to the air to move these massive animals quickly and efficiently to safer ground.

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