For two brothers, saving Delhi's kites brings fame but not enough financial support

Volunteers at the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Maryland rehabilitate injured birds by treating their injuries and exercising them. Healed birds are released back into the wild.

In Montana, landowners, hunters, outfitters, and biologists created the Devil’s Kitchen Working Group to facilitate conversations about elk management which led to a successful management framework that has been relatively unchanged for years.

After a conservation biologist noticed that the number of birds in her Indian village dwindled over the years, she knew she had to take action. Purnima Devi Barman started to help educate her community about the historical significance and importance of the greater adjutant storks, and formed the “Hargila Army,” a volunteer crew of 400 women who help protect the birds. Thanks to their efforts over the last 13 years, they’ve been able to increase the endangered species’ numbers from just 27 in to more than 210.

Members of the Marine Corps in Hawaii often pull double duty: military training and endangered species protection. For example, in June, the Marines roped off 13 green sea turtle nests on a local beach. Part of their job is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of where they perform their training exercises. Sometimes there are military members or residents who might not understand why they have to preserve and manage the land, but education outreach has led to a ramp up in conservation efforts for turtles, birds, and other creatures.

Scientists, volunteers, and rangers are working around the clock to save the endangered kakapo, a native New Zealand bird. With only 147 of these charismatic birds left in the world, they’re taking a multi-pronged, highly technological approach. Efforts include smart transmitters that track every bird and when they’re mating, artificial inseminations, and hatching fertile eggs in captivity while mothers sit on 3D-printed smart eggs.

At a decommissioned chemical depot, a lone biologist has been building artificial homes for burrowing owls. To date, he's installed some 182 burrows. Not only have his efforts helped bring a declining species back across the region, but his studies have gone a long way to better understanding the birds.

A new species of bird discovered in the small village of Singchung, India has been named after the Indigenous people who own that land — the bird is called Bugun liocichla, named after the Bugun people. Not only did this put the village in the international spotlight, it also brought tourism that helped them develop an ecotourism business. Now the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is in charge of the community reserve which is now the most effectively patrolled area under the sanctuary's purview.

There used to be a time when oil spills devastated entire populations of animals. Although still an environmental disaster, scientists and wildlife veterinarians have become profoundly more successful at treating oiled birds. Crediting much of the success to better understanding the importance of order of treatment, rehabilitated birds are surviving at a much higher rate than ever before.

"If I continued as a cardiologist, maybe I would save 2,000 or 3,000 lives over the next 30 years, But if I focus on this, I have the potential to save billions of human lives and trillions of animal lives," explains Uma Valeti a cardiologist turned clean meat founder and engineer. Valeti, along with a team of similarly minded colleagues are looking to market the first ever meat that doesn't come from killing animals.

It is currently estimated that there are 2 million rats in New York City. With numbers that high, cities including Washington, D.C. and Chicago along with New York City have teams employed solely to control the rat population. Efforts have previously been futile, however, as little is known about this species. Recognizing this problem, some cities have begun working with researchers and computer scientists to use big data to not just control the current rat populations, but also predict where the rodents will infest next and attempt to thwart their next move.