Story
November 14, 2025
50 Species That Save Us
Project
Species That Save Us
The decline of many species is taking a toll on human health.
Explore the ways animals and plants protect human health and what’s at stake when species are endangered.
You’ve heard the slogans: save the whales, protect our pollinators. You may have lamented the decline of polar bears or the last of the northern white rhinos. But scientists are only beginning to uncover just how much the vanishing of species — as a result of climate change, habitat destruction and other human interference — matters for the future of humanity.
Many of the ways nature helps us are straightforward: Bees fertilize our crops. Trees suckclimate-warming carbon dioxide out of the air. New interdisciplinary research is also revealing hidden ways nature is protecting people: Frogs deter malaria. Bats reduce the need for harmful pesticides. Wolves guard motorists from car accidents. And vultures protect people from dog bites and rabies.
Click below to see examples of how human lives have been enriched and even saved as a result of our connections to plants and animals.
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