DESCRIPTION: The ocelot is a medium-sized, spotted cat. It grows to about three feet long, not including its tail, and weighs around 30 pounds. It is described as crepuscular and nocturnal, spending ...

Rats and mice have been living with humans for centuries — and humans have been working for just as long to keep them at bay. These animals sometimes contribute to public health risks and problems in ...

At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because ...

The Trump administration on April 16, 2025, issued a proposed rule to rescind nearly all habitat protections for endangered species across the country. The proposal has profound, life-altering ...

Snake-killing contests, aka rattlesnake roundups, are contests calling for hunters to bring in as many snakes as they can catch in a year — and then slaughter them. Some snakes' bodies are sold for ...

Covering more than 25 million acres — about a fourth of California — the geologically diverse California Desert Conservation Area includes sand dunes, canyons, dry lakes, 90 mountain ranges, and 65 ...

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 ...

Plastic accumulating in our oceans and on our beaches has become a global crisis. Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences that make up about 40 percent of the world's ocean ...

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 ...

Biomass energy is made by burning living things like trees, crop residues, and other “woody biomass” to produce electricity. Like fossil fuels, biomass energy releases loads of planet-heating carbon ...

Delta smelt are tiny fish — most adults are less than 3 inches long — and nearly translucent, with a steely-blue sheen on their sides. As larvae, they start out eating microscopic food like ...