"Folklore dating to ancient Egypt has held that cats have nine lives and in modern times that mystique certainly seems true for the Florida panther. Sometimes it feels like everything in the world is trying to snuff out the panthers — everything human, that is. The panthers, a mountain lion subspecies, nearly went extinct in the 1990s, when the population dwindled to 20. That would have been embarrassing for Florida, which — thanks to a 1981 vote by schoolchildren — had designated the panther as the official state animal."

"Trillions of insects embark, largely unnoticed, on epic journeys every year across mountain ranges, deserts and seas, and it is only now, as their numbers suffer huge declines, that scientists are tracking their movements"

"The Interior Department was hit with a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the agency of illegally convening the Endangered Species Committee to waive protections for animals in the Gulf of Mexico in order to allow for more offshore drilling there."

"A proposed aquarium fishing ban is in play as state aquatic resource officials move to revive the controversial fishing practice."

"Now, parish lawsuits, including one in front of the Supreme Court, could make oil giants pay to restore the state’s vanishing marshes."

"On a recent afternoon, deep in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and less than an hour’s drive from Shenandoah National Park, a tricolored bat was moving its mouth rapidly, as if it was trying to chew something. In fact, it was echolocating, using its mouth to shape and direct pulses of ultrasonic sound as a way to survey its surroundings."

"Thirty years ago, a single light bulb would illuminate the mezcal distillery owned by Gladys Sánchez Garnica’s family in rural Oaxaca, where the agave-based spirit was made through the night. As drops dripped from a clay oven, Garnica and her siblings listened to stories told by their parents while neighbors arrived by horse to get a taste of a drink known for its smoky flavor."

"As the Trump administration prepares to convene the Endangered Species Committee, also known as... the “God Squad,” conservation groups are expressing anger over what they call an “illegal end-run around” that doesn’t seem to be following clear procedures set forth in the law. The committee is planning to discuss exemptions for Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act."