I took a stroll down the dental hygiene aisle of my local drug store and spotted these familiar children's cavity-fighting mascots: Spider Man, Little Mermaid, and good ol' Snoopy. But the inspirational cleaning character that caught my eye was relatively unknown-endangered, in fact. Utah, the prairie dog, is one of three endangered animals highlighted on Preserve Jr toothbrushes, along with Grizzly the bear and Karner Blue the Butterfly.

Environmental conservationists try their best to keep this magnificent feline from becoming a newly endangered species.

China's Three Gorges Dam is one step closer to being fully operational today. Chinese engineers blew up a temporary dam holding back the waters of the mighty Yangtzee River, allowing the river to reach its full height, more than 500 feet, behind the dam. The dam - a highly controversial project that has been many years in the making - will not be totally operational for three more years, but construction was completed last month.

Most wildlife webcams show you views of empty clearings and, if you're really lucky, a fleeting glimpse of the creature in question as it races by. But here's one trained on some actual action: bald eagles feeding their young. The eagle-cam's stars are a pair of regal birds in Maine that built their nest in late February, began incubating eggs in early March, and started tending to their hatchlings in mid-April.

Scientists have identified 595 locations around the globe that are home to at least one endangered species that lives nowhere else. These locations represent