Defenders of Wildlife

05/22/2026

More states and more refuges 🐾

Find your state and see who lives nearby! If you can make it to the refuges they call home, be sure to say hi (from a safe distance of course).

Check out Part 3 of our 50 States, 50 Refuges tour 🛣️

05/21/2026

Imagine having to cross the street in your neighborhood, but there are no stop signs, and every car is going 100mph. For North Atlantic right whales, this is their reality; in their case, the street is the ocean.

The vessel speed rule, or VSR, slows down large vessels in areas along the U.S. East Coast where right whales are known to give birth, migrate and feed.

It’s effective, necessary, and most importantly, saves lives.

Tell NOAA that we need the vessel speed rule!

05/20/2026

“The island fox exists nowhere else on earth. Found only on California’s Channel Islands, including Santa Cruz Island, the island fox evolved in complete isolation — smaller in size, uniquely adapted to limited resources, and deeply shaped by island geography.

In the 1990s, the island fox population fell from 1,500 to fewer than 100 animals in less than a decade — a 95% reduction. Through intensive conservation efforts, the island fox became one of the fastest mammal recoveries under the Endangered Species Act.”

Thank you, Arianna, for sharing the picture and the story of this uniquely Californian fox 🦊

05/19/2026

Our world is connected in ways you may not even notice!

In Delaware, every piece fits together in the ecosystem. The moon pushes and pulls the tides. At high tide, horseshoe crabs emerge to lay their eggs. As the tide falls, red knots feast on the eggs on their migration north. Without one piece, the whole thing could topple.

05/18/2026

Meet the American bison 🦬, the largest land mammal in North America.

Standing at over 6 feet tall with bulls weighing more than 2000 lbs, it's no wonder they've claimed the title of national mammal in the United States.

Learn a bit more about this absolute icon of the Plains! 🤩

05/16/2026

Conservation isn’t just science and politics (although important) – it’s also music and literature and art!

We’re grateful to conservationists of all stripes and spots for their efforts to advocate and speak for wildlife and the planet.

Here’s a few who have inspired us!

05/15/2026

We’re sending out an SOS for our most vulnerable animals!

In honor of Endangered Species Day, we’re fighting to save each and every one of them. Today, every dollar you give will be 8X MATCHED up to $50,000 to defend imperiled species and the laws that protect their lives.

Any gift goes a long way to help us continue to fight for our wild world!

Link in the comments.

05/15/2026

Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been a unique tool for protection, for action and for ensuring the species we love stay loved.

Without it, we wouldn’t have bald eagles, we wouldn’t have sea turtles, we wouldn't have wolves, we wouldn't have alligators, we wouldn't have manatees. Frankly, we wouldn’t have a lot of species.

We owe a lot to the ESA – the least we can do is keep it safe.

Happy Endangered Species Day! 🐾

05/14/2026

Tonight at 5PM ET, join the virtual Protect the Arctic community town hall with congressional and community leaders. Ask questions, share your perspective, and tell corporations to keep drilling out of the Arctic!

Sign up and join us tonight.

Join us and help ensure that the voice of the public is heard during this process! You’ll have the chance to share your verbal testimony or a written comment can be submitted.

05/13/2026

Congrats to Joey Manna for his picture of an American alligator and her baby in Apopka, Florida – you’re our Winner of the Week!

We are awarding this adorable and scaly pic the Most Motherly Award!

Thanks for submitting to our USA 250: Shaped by the Wild Photo Contest.