This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region. The American prairie was so vast, so alien, it shattered ...

Wild black-tailed prairie dogs use alarm calls to warn one another of predators, and some grassland birds are listening in. Photo credit: Andrew Dreelin, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation ...

From their cozy homes in suburban Burlington, children curiously watch their new neighbors through windows and brainstorm nicknames. Earlier this month, with their distinctive brown fur, big heads, ...