Wherever you are in the U.S., a coyote may be taking up residence less than a mile away. If you live in the city, you’re more likely than your rural cousins to encounter raccoons. And regardless of geography, you probably share your home with dozens of species of insects and spiders. These facts...

Today, the New York state legislature passed a bill that ends inhumane wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete to kill the most, the heaviest and the smallest animals for cash and prizes. In 2018 and 2020, the Humane Society of the United States released undercover investigations...

As my beloved seedlings languished untouched on the display table, I improved my sales pitch: “Would you like a late-flowering thoroughwort to help migrating butterflies refuel? What about an aster that’s the only pollen source for some bee species?” But unlike the animals who would devour these...

They were like moths to a flame or, more accurately, butterflies to a native plant. No sooner had I unloaded two joe-pye weed perennials from my car last August than three tiger swallowtails dive-bombed the pots, as if to validate my purchase. If only my fellow shoppers knew what they were missing...

We zigzag from tree to tree, seeking refuge under the leaf umbrellas. Drizzle turns to deluge as we dash beneath a tall canopy to plot our escape. The sky booms. My dad takes my hand, and I look up to see if he shares my sense of foreboding. But he’s smiling at me, his eyes twinkling. He says...

Here lies Lucy: expert pilot, supermodel, squirrel eviscerator, custom homebuilder, attentive mother and devoted mate. RIP. If she were human, Lucy might be commemorated this way, her life story etched in granite. She might take her place in a family plot beneath her favorite lookout, a weeping...

Somewhere toward the end of the last ice age, we formed an alliance with wolves: Maybe the ancestors of dogs got food scraps while our own ancestors gained protection from predators and other humans. These social species eventually collaborated on a vast scale, possibly even hunting woolly mammoths...

Black Beauty Ranch’s most famous unofficial resident lurks out of sight in the mud at the bottom of a horse pasture pond. He weighs perhaps 150 pounds, with a spiked shell like a plated dinosaur’s and a massive jaw. To catch food, he lies in wait, opening his mouth wide to reveal a worm-like...

The mountain lion known as P-47 survived fires, freeways and hostile ranchers. But in March, the 3-year-old big cat—tracked by California biologists since his kitten days—succumbed to a hidden hazard: an insidious form of food poisoning. Six anticoagulant compounds—chemicals used to kill rodents...

Whether you’re a bison, a Western box turtle, a burrowing owl or any other wild creature of the prairie, a refuge belonging to the Southern Plains Land Trust is an awesome place to be. Why? One of the newest members of the Humane Stewardship Alliance, the Southern Plains Land Trust manages a growing...

An eco-friendly getaway known as the Hideaway Ranch and Refuge in north Texas became one of the founding members of the Humane Stewardship Alliance. The Hideaway focuses on giving guests a relaxing stay in a natural setting, where they can unplug and unwind with such pastimes as hiking the trails...

Longtime Trust friend Fred Ziegler became the first founding member of the Humane Stewardship Alliance, pledging to follow humane stewardship principles in managing his nearly 2900 acres in Tennessee. With three streams and 1.5 miles of frontage along one of North America’s most biologically rich...

Decaying logs and miniature bogs, hollowed stalks and piled rocks, nutritious pollen and leaves fallen: They’re not the stuff of traditional nursery rhymes and baby showers. But if wild mothers-to-be had gift registries, these natural supplies would top the list. Though the basic elements for...

Walk into a roadside restaurant after a long day on the highway, and you can practically taste your meal before sitting down. The familiar smells of fresh-baked pie and salty fries need little introduction en route to your belly. That sensory experience is similar for wildlife coming upon lush...

A humane backyard is a safe haven for wildlife—a space where animals can thrive free from pesticides, trapping and other threats.