The only mammals who can both flap their wings and fly, bats play a key role in pollinating our crops and controlling insect populations in our neighborhoods.

Once driven to the brink of extinction by the fur trade, beavers are finally making a comeback.

From the soaring eagles we watch from afar to the pet parakeets and canaries chirping in our homes ...

A symbol of beauty transformed from humble beginnings, butterflies are one of the few insects who garner near universal appreciation.

Undeniably adorable, chipmunks play a vital role in healthy ecosystems.

Coyotes deserve lives free from persecution.

Deer are our wild neighbors, forced by habitat loss into the spaces where humans now live.

Fish are aquatic animals who live in diverse habitats.

While folktales portray them as sly tricksters, red foxes deserve our respect for their intelligence and adaptability.

With their distinctive honks and propensity to graze on roadside grass, Canada geese are among the most ubiquitous of our wild neighbors.

Manatees are large, gentle marine mammals who eat only aquatic plants.

Members of the weasel family, otters are known for their elongated bodies, webbed feet and playful antics, particularly their love of sliding down rocks, banks or waterfalls.

Sporting their tux-with-tails plumage, penguins are one of Earth’s most charismatic and recognizable birds.

These furry masked bandits probably hang out in your neighborhood—they’re amazing survivors and can thrive in all sorts of habitats.

These sleek, beautiful animals live in coastal waters, hunting for fish in the sea and returning to land to give birth to their young.

Sleek, powerful and endlessly fascinating, sharks have roamed the oceans for millions of years.

Misunderstood skunks are gentle, near-sighted animals with one infamous—and pungent—defense mechanism.

Solitary creatures who prefer to be left alone, snakes have a bad reputation that doesn’t match their behavior.

Around the world, tree squirrels are among the most prolific—and fun to watch—backyard wildlife species.

Turtles have been roaming the Earth for millions of years—but now dozens of these “slow and steady” species are racing toward extinction.