Whether you call them mountain lions or cougars, they’re one of the most adaptable big cats in the Western Hemisphere.

Often maligned and misunderstood, opossums play many important roles in their ecosystems.

Members of the weasel family, otters are known for their elongated bodies, webbed feet and playful antics, particularly their love of sliding down rocks, banks or waterfalls.

Pangolins are gentle mammals who curl into a defensive ball when threatened.

Sporting their tux-with-tails plumage, penguins are one of Earth’s most charismatic and recognizable birds.

Pigs are gentle creatures with surprising intelligence.

Depending on pack ice for their habitat, polar bears are threatened by climate change—and by traffic in their fur and parts.

Prairie dogs possess strong family bonds and sophisticated language skills.

These shy, gentle animals share our neighborhoods—and sometimes our homes.

These furry masked bandits probably hang out in your neighborhood—they’re amazing survivors and can thrive in all sorts of habitats.

One of the largest living land mammals, rhinoceroses once shared the earth with saber-toothed cats and the earliest humanlike apes.

These sleek, beautiful animals live in coastal waters, hunting for fish in the sea and returning to land to give birth to their young.

Sleek, powerful and endlessly fascinating, sharks have roamed the oceans for millions of years.

Sheep are complex and intelligent animals.

Misunderstood skunks are gentle, near-sighted animals with one infamous—and pungent—defense mechanism.

Solitary creatures who prefer to be left alone, snakes have a bad reputation that doesn’t match their behavior.

Around the world, tree squirrels are among the most prolific—and fun to watch—backyard wildlife species.

Tigers are the largest cat species, with striped coat patterns as unique as fingerprints.

Wild turkeys can live up to 12 years.

Turtles have been roaming the Earth for millions of years—but now dozens of these “slow and steady” species are racing toward extinction.