North America
The United States runs from the Arctic of Alaska to the tropical reefs of Florida and Hawaii, and that range takes in deserts, prairies, temperate forests, subtropical wetlands and some of the highest mountains in North America. In 1872 it created Yellowstone, the world's first national park, launching a model of protection since copied on every continent. California's redwood forests hold the tallest trees on the planet, the Everglades form a river of grass kilometres wide and a few centimetres deep, and the Pacific kelp forests are among the most productive marine ecosystems in existence. The Great Plains still keep fragments of the prairie that once supported immense herds of bison.
National animal: The bald eagle is the national bird and the American bison the national mammal, designated in 2016
In 1987 there were twenty-two California condors left in the world, and a drastic decision was taken: to capture every last wild bird and breed them in captivity. The gamble paid off, and more than five hundred fly again today, many of them free. Their main threat is still the lead from ammunition they swallow while feeding on carrion, so many birds are caught periodically for treatment.
The reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone in 1995, after seventy years of absence, changed elk behaviour, allowed riverside willows and cottonwoods to regenerate, and has become the most cited trophic cascade in the world. The black-footed ferret was rediscovered in 1981 after being given up as extinct.
Yellowstone in May and June for wolves and bison calves. The Everglades between December and April for waterbirds and alligators. The California coast between December and April for grey whales.
What is worth looking out for this month in the United States?
Least ConcernMexican Free-tailed Bat
Tadarida brasiliensis
Now is a good time: Urban bat colony under Congress Avenue Bridge (March to November (peak in summer))
713 species found
Based on what we already know about United States.
