A Northern Spotted Owl flies after a mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. To save the spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a plan to deploy trained shooters to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. Don Ryan/AP hide caption
A manatee swims among seagrass in the Homosassa River on Oct. 5, 2021 in Homosassa, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
The Key deer is the smallest deer species in North America. The deer live only in the low-lying Florida Keys. They are considered federally endangered, with an estimated population of around 1,000. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
The historical range of the Bachman's warbler included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hide caption
A female red wolf is shown in its habitat at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. Gerry Broome/AP hide caption
The melt of California's massive snowpack has led to chronic flooding in the Central Valley this spring, like this riverfront park near the town of Grayson. Lauren Sommer/NPR hide caption
Biologists are evacuating endangered riparian brush rabbits as floodwaters rise in California. Lee Eastman/FWS hide caption
A gopher tortoise is seen at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park in Gainesville, Fla. Gopher tortoises that are threatened by loss of habitat and development should be placed on the endangered species list in four southern states, environmental groups said Wednesday. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service via AP hide caption
The head and skin of an East African lion killed at the turn of the century by President Theodore Roosevelt decorates The Explorers Club in New York. A committee designed to advise the Department of Interior on the benefits of big-game hunting was dissolved in December after two years. Kathy Willens/AP hide caption
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose lifting protections on the gray wolf, seen here in 2008. The species' status under the Endangered Species Act has been contested for years. Gary Kramer/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP hide caption
A bald eagle flies over its nest in Middle River, Md., in 2009. Rob Carr/AP hide caption
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted a ban on importing sport-hunted trophies of elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia. But President Trump wants to review the decision. Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A grizzly bear roams near Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., in 2011. Jim Urquhart/AP hide caption
Three giraffes and a white rhino laze in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in 2012. The global giraffe population has dropped sharply in recent decades, prompting wildlife groups to urge the giraffe's addition to the endangered species list. Barbara Hollweg/IFAW hide caption
Biologist Shaun Clements counts down the seconds before emptying a vial of synthetic DNA into a stream near Alsea, Oregon. Jes Burns/Oregon Public Broadcasting/EarthFix hide caption
Moraine Park is a grassy valley inside Rocky Mountain National Park. Wes Lindamood/NPR hide caption
Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe (left) and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell select confiscated illegal ivory to crush in an effort to halt elephant poaching and ivory trafficking in New York City's Times Square in June 2015. Bebeto Matthews/AP hide caption