Ban Elephant Trophy Imports From Botswana

Tragic news: According to a Botswana news outlet, trophy hunters killed two satellite-collared elephants in the country, one on Sept. 3 and the other on Sept. 4.

Researchers were studying these elephants for better insight on their migratory patterns and habitat use. Now the animals — and the science they supported — are gone.

A 2026 case study by the Center for Biological Diversity found that U.S. trophy hunters frequent Botswana. If the hunters who killed these precious collared elephants are from the United States, they shouldn't be allowed to bring any part of the animals back to the country with them.

You can help speak up for elephants by urging leaders from the U.S. Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife Service to act.

Tell them to deny import permits for these elephants and protect elephants by banning all elephant trophy imports from Botswana.

Defending Whales From an Underwater Data Center

The Center has filed a legal motion to intervene in the federal permitting process for an underwater data center proposed in Maine’s Bay of Fundy. It could harm endangered marine wildlife like North Atlantic right whales — who number fewer than 400 — and fin whales, the second-largest whales on Earth.

“Experimenting with an underwater data center in the habitat of one of the world’s most endangered whale populations is a truly terrible idea,” said Kristen Monsell, the Center’s oceans legal director. “Noise from the surveys and vessels could stress and disturb wildlife. If it’s built, this underwater data center could make the bay even more dangerous. The project needs to be stopped in its tracks.”

Help us make that happen with a gift to the Future for the Wild Fund.

Agreement Will Protect Monarchs ... in 2030

In a bittersweet move for an iconic insect, on Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to finalize Endangered Species Act protection for monarch butterflies by June 6, 2030.

Thanks to legal work by the Center and allies, in 2024 the agency promised to protect the orange-and-black butterflies by last December. But under the Trump administration, it failed to follow through. So we sued again — securing this agreement.

“Monarchs are migrating south right now, bringing joy to everyone who sees them,” said the Center’s Tierra Curry. "Punting their protection for years magnifies the risk that we lose these migratory wonders.”

Still, this commitment from the Trump administration — which has protected fewer species than any in history — is no small feat.

And while we wait for the government to act, you can still take steps to help these precious fliers. Call on grocery stores and importers to commit to sourcing only avocados that don’t obliterate Mexico monarch forests.

Atrazine Pollutes 25% of Continental U.S. River Miles

According to a new Center report analyzing federal data, the hormone-disrupting pesticide atrazine contaminates more than 25% of total river miles in the lower 48 states — that is, roughly 860,000 miles — at levels known to harm aquatic wildlife, from manatees to alligators. We also found dangerous atrazine levels polluting waterways relied on by more than 20% of U.S. drinking-water systems.

“We need to follow the lead of over 60 countries around the world and ban atrazine once and for all,” said the Center’s Environmental Health Science Director Nathan Donley. “Failing to do so will mean disease, death, and dirty water in America for decades to come.”

You can help: Sign our petition calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban this horrible chemical.

Trump’s Wall Damaged a 6,500-Year-Old Sacred Site

New research shows that southern Arizona’s Las Playas Intaglio — a sacred Indigenous geoglyph previously thought to be about 1,000 years old — is actually at least 6,500 years old. That’s 1,500 years older than Stonehenge.

This discovery makes recent damage even more devastating: In April federal contractors destroyed part of the intaglio working on the Trump administration’s second border wall in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. They drove heavy equipment that scraped a 50-foot-wide corridor through the fish-shaped figure — also damaging the surrounding wildlife refuge, home to species like Sonoran pronghorns and lesser long-nosed bats.

Join our fight against this wall by sharing our video about the destruction on Facebook or Instagram.

Revelator: Saving Europe’s Last Wild River

Albania’s Vjosa River faces threats from development planned by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and enabled by the Albanian government. Music and art help fuel ongoing protests.

Read more in The Revelator.

And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to the free weekly newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That’s Wild: When Sperm Whales Change Their Tune

When boats are around, sperm whales change how they talk to each other — although it’s still unclear what they’re saying.

Scientists at Project Ceti, a nonprofit working to decode sperm whale communication, spent four years listening to calls of sperm whales near the Caribbean island of Dominica. They found that whales varied their audible clicks when boats and ships were close: Sequences became shorter, and one pattern became more prominent.

“Are whales talking about the ships, or is it an impact on their voices because the ships are around?” said David Gruber, the founder and chief executive of Project Ceti.

Listen to a comparison of calls at The Guardian.

Have a friend who'd like this email?

Follow Us

Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth

Donate now to support the Center's work.

Photo credits: Elephant in Botswana by Brett Hartl/Center for Biological Diversity; fin whale by Aqqa Rosing-Asvid/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0); monarch butterfly by Brett Hartl/Center for Biological Diversity; Florida manatee courtesy USFWS, boy with hose by suthisak/Adobe Stock; geoglyph damaged by border wall construction contractors at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge by Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity; Flamingo Rebellion by Matete Plays/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); sperm whales by Gabriel Barathieu/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

View our privacy policy.

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States