ENDANGERED: The Grey Bat (Myotis grisescens)

What does Endangered Species Day mean to you? One of my pet peeves is that everyone seems to know everything about endangered species that are cute, large and very often cuddly-- but many of them also live very far away. I think it's equally important to know about the animals in YOUR area. Yes I know, some people don't think they have to care about endangered clams in Virginia--but the truth is-- you should. These are the animals that we have an effect on and that have an effect on us.

The sad truth is that we can't even go to America.gov and get an exclusive look at our nation's endangered species, and believe me we have plenty of them to fill a page. But that's ok. Now that we know there are plenty of local animals let's work to protect them! NWF and Fish and Wildlife Service offer lots of ways.

I think that Endangered Species Day is about ALL of these animals, and that we should never underestimate the importance of protecting even animals far away.

I want to challenge readers to learn at least ONE new species that is endangered in your area. I think just by being aware of these animals and learning how to protect them, we can be better stewards of the earth. To me, Endangered Species Day reminds me that while it's important to save what we love it's equally important to protect what we may not understand.

Just a heads up: "There are currently 1317 species listed in the U.S.: 746 plants and 571
animals. To find out what endangered species are near you, and how you
can help, please visit www.fws.gov/endangered."
At the National Wildlife Federation- we want to know about the endangered species you care about, whether you tweet it, share it on facebook, post a blog or even a comment below! Share with us a species you learned about or want to protect and if you are on twitter, hashtag it #speciesday. We look forward to hearing about them.

Since I live in Virginia, today I'll be tweeting for the gray bat!

To find a complete list of species in the United States. But definitely share your species no matter where you live!

If you are on Twitter,  help us spread the word! Copy and paste this into your "tweet" window: