A rusty patched bumblebee on Aug. 14, 2008, in Peoria, Ill. (Johanna James-Heinz via AP)The rusty patched bumblebee’s path to the endangered list was as up and down as the way it flies. The rusty patched bumblebee was so prevalent 20 years ago that pedestrians in Midwestern cities had to shoo them away. By the early 2000s, the rusty patched bee was decidedly less visible even in places such as Madison, Wis., and Minneapolis, cities that were once buzzing with them. Fish and Wildlife Service on March 21 officially designated the rusty patched bumblebee an endangered species. The Endangered Species Act might be headed for the ‘threatened’ listWith only 100 left, the world’s cutest porpoise is nearly gone.

Source: Washington Post March 21, 2017 20:17 UTC