A conservation group released a report in 2023finding that more than 40% of all animal species in the U.S. are at risk of going extinct. Most in danger were small, not-so-exciting animals—snails, crayfish, mussels—that nevertheless make up key cornerstones of our ecosystems.
The U.S. is officially saying goodbye to 21 species that have been feared gone for years. These animals, which include many birds and marine mammals, have been delisted from the Endangered Species Act because they are now declared extinct, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said this week.
(Robin Rudd/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, File)
