Defenders of Wildlife
@defenders.org
1.1K followers 41 following 140 posts
Defenders of Wildlife leads the pack when it comes to protecting wild animals and plants in their natural communities. #ActAgainstExtinction
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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
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
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#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.
A widemouth blindcat against a black background, photo credit to  © Hendrickson lab / Ichthyology Collection at The University of Texas at Austin/University of Texas at Austin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED) in the bottom left.
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Hey Curtis Cownose! It’s me, Fuzzy Frogface!

What’s your freshwater mussel name?
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Bee 🐝 careful with your decorations!
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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
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.
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A lot of animals get a bad rap for being “scary” either in myths, fables, or movies but the frightening expectation is usually a lot different than the reality we know.

Bears are nurturing, alligators sunbathe, bats eat fruit nectar. That’s what these animals are really like. Not so scary huh?
Red text: "Animals Culture Deemed "Evil"" with white text against a black box "Expectations vs Reality" in background in a darkened woodprint of a wolf.
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Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall.

From Texas to Tanzania, everyone knew who she was and what she stood for. In the decades she worked, she inspired new generations by spreading the message of conservation and the urgent need to protect our planet.

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Defenders of Wildlife Honors Dame Jane Goodall DBE
Jane Goodall’s life and work were a testament to her deep love of wildlife and passion for science. As a young woman, she defied expectations by travelling to Tanzania
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Did you know that Gila monster venom helped develop medications like Ozempic? Their saliva contains a useful hormone for treating diabetes! 💊

Nothing monstrous about these lizards, if anything, they’re valuable members of the medical community, but I wouldn’t ask them to take your temperature.
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We’re not actually THAT obsessed with public lands. Unless “obsessed” means that we think about public lands all the time, love them with our whole hearts and slide public lands into every conversation, then yeah, we are a bit obsessed.

But aren’t all of you too?

Happy Public Lands Day!
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These little ferrets are facing extinction, but with emerging technologies, the tools to fight against their extinction are expanding.

Read more on our blog to see the state-of-the-art world of wildlife protection.

Happy Black-Footed Ferret Day!

#[dfnd.us/4nKpaRs
The Buzz Around New Technology Saving Prairie Dogs and Endangered Black-footed Ferrets
There was a quiet buzzing, almost like a swarm of bees making their way across the grasslands.
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Despite the constant attacks, the time we have with sea otters, humpback whales, manatees, dolphins and countless other marine animals is a luxury.

So many of these species should be extinct, but thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act we still have them today.
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Just below the surface in Monterey Bay is a vast forest – of kelp!

You can find sea otters resting in these coastal kelp forests, draping the kelp over their bodies to keep them from drifting away. If we were otters, we’d certainly lounge in kelp forests too!
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I’m so hungry I could eat like a sea otter. If you weigh 160 pounds, that’d be 40 pounds of food!

That’s right, a sea otter eats approximately 25% of their weight in food each day. With male southern sea otters weighing up to 65 pounds, that’s a lot of seafood!

Learn more: dfnd.us/3Ip5cNb
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It begins…

Let the fattest bear win – Fat Bear Week STARTS TODAY!
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Cuddling while drifting on their backs, paws folded across their chests, a raft of sea otters bobs in the cold Alaskan water. Whether seen from a research plane or tracked by satellite, sea otters are telling us important stories about Alaska’s coasts.

Now it’s up to us to listen. dfnd.us/46k5le6
Unlocking the Mystery of Alaska’s Sea Otters
Cuddled together while drifting on their backs, paws folded across their chests, a large raft of sea otters bobbed effortlessly in the cold Alaskan water. The moment I first saw these otters has staye...
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Millions of acres of national forests are on the chopping block – lands that belong to all of us.

These are the backcountry places where we sit around a campfire under a sea of stars and pass our traditions down to the next generation. Without the Roadless Rule, we could lose them.

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Our forests are in danger – speak out against repealing the “roadless rule”!
Send a message today urging the Trump administration not to strip our forests of vital protections by repealing the Roadless Rule!
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defenders.org
Just followed? Meet our pack!

We are scientists, biologists, policy-shapers, advocates, and lawyers. While our days look a lot different, from field work to research to map-making, one thing is true: at Defenders, we give it our all to advocate, educate, and fight for wildlife across the country. 🐾
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We aren’t the only animal that goes “goo goo ga ga” as a baby!

In the piñon pine forests in the American Southwest, you may hear beeps, toots, whistles and clicks during a young pinyon jay’s first summer – all very non-jay-like sounds like a baby babbling.

Learn more: dfnd.us/4prvRJT ⬅️
Two pinyon jays stand on a branch, one on the right has its wings stretched out as it caws. Photo credit to Maresa Pryor-Luzier in the bottom left.
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We are on Capitol Hill right now sharing our message to protect the Marine Mammal Protection Act – join us at home and tell your representatives: don’t betray marine mammals by voting to gut the MMPA!

➡️ dfnd.us/4nzaCUN ⬅️
Whales, dolphins and more could be exposed to deadly threats – sign a message today!
Sign a message to your legislator urging them to stand against attempts to dismantle the MMPA and endanger marine wildlife!
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