Defenders of Wildlife
@defenders.org
Defenders of Wildlife leads the pack when it comes to protecting wild animals and plants in their natural communities. #ActAgainstExtinction
Take a pause and float peacefully with us for Manatee Awareness Month.
November 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Take a pause and float peacefully with us for Manatee Awareness Month.
Today, we filed suit to challenge the unlawful sellout of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge – an essential and irreplaceable home for caribou, brown bear and global populations of Pacific brant and Emperor geese among many other species.
Read more: dfnd.us/4pcuoq0
Read more: dfnd.us/4pcuoq0
November 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Today, we filed suit to challenge the unlawful sellout of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge – an essential and irreplaceable home for caribou, brown bear and global populations of Pacific brant and Emperor geese among many other species.
Read more: dfnd.us/4pcuoq0
Read more: dfnd.us/4pcuoq0
Make some room in the jacuzzi please!
Did you know that Florida manatees cannot tolerate waters below 68° F for extended periods, as cold water can stun and even kill them? Whether natural or man-made, manatees depend on warm waters to survive the coldest days of winter.
dfnd.us/47BCcLT
Did you know that Florida manatees cannot tolerate waters below 68° F for extended periods, as cold water can stun and even kill them? Whether natural or man-made, manatees depend on warm waters to survive the coldest days of winter.
dfnd.us/47BCcLT
November 12, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Make some room in the jacuzzi please!
Did you know that Florida manatees cannot tolerate waters below 68° F for extended periods, as cold water can stun and even kill them? Whether natural or man-made, manatees depend on warm waters to survive the coldest days of winter.
dfnd.us/47BCcLT
Did you know that Florida manatees cannot tolerate waters below 68° F for extended periods, as cold water can stun and even kill them? Whether natural or man-made, manatees depend on warm waters to survive the coldest days of winter.
dfnd.us/47BCcLT
If we let the extinction crisis go unchecked and wildlife go unprotected, we will lose more than just animals. We will lose our greatest teachers, our furry friends and neighbors, and our ties to the natural world – all in our lifetime.
But with the Endangered Species Act, we can keep them safe.
But with the Endangered Species Act, we can keep them safe.
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
If we let the extinction crisis go unchecked and wildlife go unprotected, we will lose more than just animals. We will lose our greatest teachers, our furry friends and neighbors, and our ties to the natural world – all in our lifetime.
But with the Endangered Species Act, we can keep them safe.
But with the Endangered Species Act, we can keep them safe.
Picture a mother polar bear and her cub, curled up in a den beneath the snow when...BOOM! The sounds and vibrations of machinery shatter their peace. Confused and scared, the mother abandons her cub.
If seismic testing takes place in the Arctic Refuge, this could be their reality. dfnd.us/4nHBbqx
If seismic testing takes place in the Arctic Refuge, this could be their reality. dfnd.us/4nHBbqx
Shaking the Earth: What Seismic Exploration means for Alaska’s Wildlife
If you think back to your high school geology class, you may recall learning about seismic waves which are acoustic energy that travel th
dfnd.us
November 6, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Picture a mother polar bear and her cub, curled up in a den beneath the snow when...BOOM! The sounds and vibrations of machinery shatter their peace. Confused and scared, the mother abandons her cub.
If seismic testing takes place in the Arctic Refuge, this could be their reality. dfnd.us/4nHBbqx
If seismic testing takes place in the Arctic Refuge, this could be their reality. dfnd.us/4nHBbqx
#DYK polar bears are only found in the Arctic?
In fact, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain is the most important land habitat for denning polar bears in the U.S. Yet that’s exactly where disruptive seismic testing for oil and gas is set to take place.
dfnd.us/3IYVq4Q
In fact, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain is the most important land habitat for denning polar bears in the U.S. Yet that’s exactly where disruptive seismic testing for oil and gas is set to take place.
dfnd.us/3IYVq4Q
November 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM
#DYK polar bears are only found in the Arctic?
In fact, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain is the most important land habitat for denning polar bears in the U.S. Yet that’s exactly where disruptive seismic testing for oil and gas is set to take place.
dfnd.us/3IYVq4Q
In fact, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain is the most important land habitat for denning polar bears in the U.S. Yet that’s exactly where disruptive seismic testing for oil and gas is set to take place.
dfnd.us/3IYVq4Q
Us hitting the snooze as Daylight Savings ends...
November 2, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Us hitting the snooze as Daylight Savings ends...
Take a few deep breaths with our national mammal for National Bison Day.
November 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Take a few deep breaths with our national mammal for National Bison Day.
When you spend a lot of time hiking, snorkeling and working with wildlife, you may cross paths with some scary animals. But on a closer look, these fear-inducing animals are cool AND essential to their environment.
Read more to see 13 “creepy” animals as seen in the field!
dfnd.us/4oemwEj
Read more to see 13 “creepy” animals as seen in the field!
dfnd.us/4oemwEj
Top 13 Creepy but Cool Animals
When you spend a lot of time in nature and working with wildlife, you may cross paths with some frightfully scary animals. But on a closer look, things may not be as
dfnd.us
October 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
When you spend a lot of time hiking, snorkeling and working with wildlife, you may cross paths with some scary animals. But on a closer look, these fear-inducing animals are cool AND essential to their environment.
Read more to see 13 “creepy” animals as seen in the field!
dfnd.us/4oemwEj
Read more to see 13 “creepy” animals as seen in the field!
dfnd.us/4oemwEj
Don’t call pest control!
#DYK: Little brown bats are natural pest control experts? A single bat is capable of eating up to 1,000 insects in just one hour! That’s hundreds of mosquitoes, moths, beetles and agricultural pests taken out of the air without a single drop of pesticide.
dfnd.us/4nANyoo
#DYK: Little brown bats are natural pest control experts? A single bat is capable of eating up to 1,000 insects in just one hour! That’s hundreds of mosquitoes, moths, beetles and agricultural pests taken out of the air without a single drop of pesticide.
dfnd.us/4nANyoo
October 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Don’t call pest control!
#DYK: Little brown bats are natural pest control experts? A single bat is capable of eating up to 1,000 insects in just one hour! That’s hundreds of mosquitoes, moths, beetles and agricultural pests taken out of the air without a single drop of pesticide.
dfnd.us/4nANyoo
#DYK: Little brown bats are natural pest control experts? A single bat is capable of eating up to 1,000 insects in just one hour! That’s hundreds of mosquitoes, moths, beetles and agricultural pests taken out of the air without a single drop of pesticide.
dfnd.us/4nANyoo
In “The Lorax,” the Once-ler chops down all the Truffula trees, ignoring the Lorax’s warnings until the land is barren and the animals are gone. What was meant as a cautionary children’s tale now feels more like a prophecy coming true.
Read more from our op-ed featured in USA Today. dfnd.us/4qvvbUo
Read more from our op-ed featured in USA Today. dfnd.us/4qvvbUo
Opinion: The Lorax's Warning Is Clear: Will We Speak for the Trees and Our Wildlife?
This blog presents a recent op-ed in
dfnd.us
October 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
In “The Lorax,” the Once-ler chops down all the Truffula trees, ignoring the Lorax’s warnings until the land is barren and the animals are gone. What was meant as a cautionary children’s tale now feels more like a prophecy coming true.
Read more from our op-ed featured in USA Today. dfnd.us/4qvvbUo
Read more from our op-ed featured in USA Today. dfnd.us/4qvvbUo
It wasn’t enough to bulldoze the White House, now they’re selling out two of our largest national wildlife refuges to private interests in a move that threatens treasured biodiversity hotspots and imperiled wildlife habitat in Alaska’s Arctic and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges.
dfnd.us/474Eram
dfnd.us/474Eram
DOI Trades Away Alaskan Refuges, Sells Out Public Lands
The Trump administration dealt a blow to the National Wildlife Refuge System by removing protections from the Arctic and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges.
dfnd.us
October 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It wasn’t enough to bulldoze the White House, now they’re selling out two of our largest national wildlife refuges to private interests in a move that threatens treasured biodiversity hotspots and imperiled wildlife habitat in Alaska’s Arctic and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges.
dfnd.us/474Eram
dfnd.us/474Eram
The story of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone is a story of hope. Hope for wolf recovery and for what we can achieve when animals we care about are protected.
Yellowstone gives us hope, not only for wolves, but also for the countless other species that deserve protection.
dfnd.us/4o2gsyr
Yellowstone gives us hope, not only for wolves, but also for the countless other species that deserve protection.
dfnd.us/4o2gsyr
Notes From the Field: Gray Wolves and Bison in Yellowstone
As we celebrate Wolf Awareness Week — a commemorative week established by Defenders of Wildlife in 1996 — I find myself reflecting on a Defenders’ trip to
dfnd.us
October 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
The story of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone is a story of hope. Hope for wolf recovery and for what we can achieve when animals we care about are protected.
Yellowstone gives us hope, not only for wolves, but also for the countless other species that deserve protection.
dfnd.us/4o2gsyr
Yellowstone gives us hope, not only for wolves, but also for the countless other species that deserve protection.
dfnd.us/4o2gsyr
#DYK: we’ve been fighting for wolves since 1947?
In the 60s, we called for reintroductions in Yellowstone. In the 80s, we conducted public education campaigns to garner support. In the 90s, we were there when Yellowstone reintroduced wolves and we established Wolf Awareness Week!
dfnd.us/3JjUhVk
In the 60s, we called for reintroductions in Yellowstone. In the 80s, we conducted public education campaigns to garner support. In the 90s, we were there when Yellowstone reintroduced wolves and we established Wolf Awareness Week!
dfnd.us/3JjUhVk
October 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
#DYK: we’ve been fighting for wolves since 1947?
In the 60s, we called for reintroductions in Yellowstone. In the 80s, we conducted public education campaigns to garner support. In the 90s, we were there when Yellowstone reintroduced wolves and we established Wolf Awareness Week!
dfnd.us/3JjUhVk
In the 60s, we called for reintroductions in Yellowstone. In the 80s, we conducted public education campaigns to garner support. In the 90s, we were there when Yellowstone reintroduced wolves and we established Wolf Awareness Week!
dfnd.us/3JjUhVk
They patrol the conifer forests and meadows of northern California. They roam through the glacier-scoured canyons and around giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada. Gray wolves are no strangers to the Golden State.
Get to know these wolves with our California Program Director!
dfnd.us/47f4tXd
Get to know these wolves with our California Program Director!
dfnd.us/47f4tXd
Meet the Gray Wolves of California
They patrol the conifer forests and meadows of northern California. They roam through the glacier-scoured canyons and around giant sequoias in the southern Sierra Nevada. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are...
dfnd.us
October 21, 2025 at 3:23 PM
They patrol the conifer forests and meadows of northern California. They roam through the glacier-scoured canyons and around giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada. Gray wolves are no strangers to the Golden State.
Get to know these wolves with our California Program Director!
dfnd.us/47f4tXd
Get to know these wolves with our California Program Director!
dfnd.us/47f4tXd
A new program would let people purchase a stake in improvements to the grasslands bison call home on the Great Plains – creating a way to ensure that our national mammal has a sustainable future, where the indigenous tribes that care for them can give them the best habitat possible.
dfnd.us/3L00B4X
dfnd.us/3L00B4X
Proposed Biodiversity Credit Pilot Program a First for Tribes, Healthy Grasslands
A new conservation pilot program will offer industry leaders the opportunity to contribute to the return of bison to tribal lands, which will in turn contribute to the
defenders.org
October 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM
A new program would let people purchase a stake in improvements to the grasslands bison call home on the Great Plains – creating a way to ensure that our national mammal has a sustainable future, where the indigenous tribes that care for them can give them the best habitat possible.
dfnd.us/3L00B4X
dfnd.us/3L00B4X
AWOOOOOO!!!
For some (likely rabbits, moles, and other small mammals) hearing that famous wolf howl will send shivers down their spine, but for us, it’s nothing short of magic.
Happy Wolf Awareness Week! 🐺
Check out our website for more about wolves: dfnd.us/47t9EnH ⬅️
For some (likely rabbits, moles, and other small mammals) hearing that famous wolf howl will send shivers down their spine, but for us, it’s nothing short of magic.
Happy Wolf Awareness Week! 🐺
Check out our website for more about wolves: dfnd.us/47t9EnH ⬅️
October 19, 2025 at 3:09 PM
AWOOOOOO!!!
For some (likely rabbits, moles, and other small mammals) hearing that famous wolf howl will send shivers down their spine, but for us, it’s nothing short of magic.
Happy Wolf Awareness Week! 🐺
Check out our website for more about wolves: dfnd.us/47t9EnH ⬅️
For some (likely rabbits, moles, and other small mammals) hearing that famous wolf howl will send shivers down their spine, but for us, it’s nothing short of magic.
Happy Wolf Awareness Week! 🐺
Check out our website for more about wolves: dfnd.us/47t9EnH ⬅️
Sometimes balancing life’s activities – working, traveling or giving back to your community – can get overwhelming, but sometimes you can do it all at the beach!
See what it’s like to volunteer at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, helping collect data on baby sea turtles.
dfnd.us/3KPJ6nX
See what it’s like to volunteer at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, helping collect data on baby sea turtles.
dfnd.us/3KPJ6nX
Traveling and Turtles in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge
There’s one thing we can all agree on: the thing which we seem to never have enough and wish we had more of… time. Balancing life’s activities, whether it’s
dfnd.us
October 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Sometimes balancing life’s activities – working, traveling or giving back to your community – can get overwhelming, but sometimes you can do it all at the beach!
See what it’s like to volunteer at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, helping collect data on baby sea turtles.
dfnd.us/3KPJ6nX
See what it’s like to volunteer at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, helping collect data on baby sea turtles.
dfnd.us/3KPJ6nX
#DYK: Female fall-run Chinook salmon travel hundreds of miles without eating to spawn until they’re literally falling apart?
By the time they get to their historic spawning grounds, their internal organs & bones may be exposed, giving them a zombie-like appearance.
Read more: dfnd.us/4h05AP0
By the time they get to their historic spawning grounds, their internal organs & bones may be exposed, giving them a zombie-like appearance.
Read more: dfnd.us/4h05AP0
October 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
#DYK: Female fall-run Chinook salmon travel hundreds of miles without eating to spawn until they’re literally falling apart?
By the time they get to their historic spawning grounds, their internal organs & bones may be exposed, giving them a zombie-like appearance.
Read more: dfnd.us/4h05AP0
By the time they get to their historic spawning grounds, their internal organs & bones may be exposed, giving them a zombie-like appearance.
Read more: dfnd.us/4h05AP0
The walking dead are among us…but they aren’t zombies! They’re ESA-protected species!
There are many animals that almost went extinct but thanks to the Endangered Species Act and public support from people like you, now they live to see another day!
There are many animals that almost went extinct but thanks to the Endangered Species Act and public support from people like you, now they live to see another day!
October 14, 2025 at 3:50 PM
The walking dead are among us…but they aren’t zombies! They’re ESA-protected species!
There are many animals that almost went extinct but thanks to the Endangered Species Act and public support from people like you, now they live to see another day!
There are many animals that almost went extinct but thanks to the Endangered Species Act and public support from people like you, now they live to see another day!
In the Texas Hill Country, the stars’ light fights its way through a soft, unnatural glow. The night feels thinner and emptier. And we’re not the only ones noticing, wildlife who depend on darkness are struggling to keep their rhythms.
So, where did the night go? dfnd.us/3VTBmn7
So, where did the night go? dfnd.us/3VTBmn7
Where Did the Night Go?
I grew up looking up at the stars with my mom, stretched out on a blanket under the wide-open Texas skies. We’d watch meteor showers and trace constellations while
dfnd.us
October 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
In the Texas Hill Country, the stars’ light fights its way through a soft, unnatural glow. The night feels thinner and emptier. And we’re not the only ones noticing, wildlife who depend on darkness are struggling to keep their rhythms.
So, where did the night go? dfnd.us/3VTBmn7
So, where did the night go? dfnd.us/3VTBmn7
#DYK: There’s a fish with no eyes that lives 900 feet underground with the nickname: the Prince of Darkness? AKA the widemouth blindcat!
It lives underwater in aquifers below Texas with a big mouth that allows it to feed on fine organic debris and tiny invertebrates that drift through groundwater.
It lives underwater in aquifers below Texas with a big mouth that allows it to feed on fine organic debris and tiny invertebrates that drift through groundwater.
October 8, 2025 at 7:43 PM
#DYK: There’s a fish with no eyes that lives 900 feet underground with the nickname: the Prince of Darkness? AKA the widemouth blindcat!
It lives underwater in aquifers below Texas with a big mouth that allows it to feed on fine organic debris and tiny invertebrates that drift through groundwater.
It lives underwater in aquifers below Texas with a big mouth that allows it to feed on fine organic debris and tiny invertebrates that drift through groundwater.
Hey Curtis Cownose! It’s me, Fuzzy Frogface!
What’s your freshwater mussel name?
What’s your freshwater mussel name?
October 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Hey Curtis Cownose! It’s me, Fuzzy Frogface!
What’s your freshwater mussel name?
What’s your freshwater mussel name?
Bee 🐝 careful with your decorations!
October 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Bee 🐝 careful with your decorations!
In this country, we care about our wild lands and the animals that live on them.
Any effort to undo protections and sell out public lands in the Arctic and beyond are wildly unpopular with the American people.
Tell elected officials to #StopTheArcticSellOff before it’s too late: dfnd.us/48eKxWD
Any effort to undo protections and sell out public lands in the Arctic and beyond are wildly unpopular with the American people.
Tell elected officials to #StopTheArcticSellOff before it’s too late: dfnd.us/48eKxWD
TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC
Oil and gas development in America's Arctic promises devastating impacts on our global climate, on the human rights of the Indigenous Peoples who live and depend on the lands they consider sacred, and on the millions of birds, fish, and wildlife who rely on this one-of-a-kind ecosystem. We can't let that happen.
dfnd.us
October 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
In this country, we care about our wild lands and the animals that live on them.
Any effort to undo protections and sell out public lands in the Arctic and beyond are wildly unpopular with the American people.
Tell elected officials to #StopTheArcticSellOff before it’s too late: dfnd.us/48eKxWD
Any effort to undo protections and sell out public lands in the Arctic and beyond are wildly unpopular with the American people.
Tell elected officials to #StopTheArcticSellOff before it’s too late: dfnd.us/48eKxWD