Missouri Department of Conservation

American burying beetles bring dead animals underground, turn them into preserved meatballs and feed them to their babies. The St. Louis Zoo is working to save the threatened beetle.

Scientists have uncovered surprisingly little about copperhead snakes. Until now.

A grant from the state helped local educators create a grassland prairie for students to learn about conservation at an Oakville elementary school.

Peanut is a notable example of how plastic pollution can harm wildlife — and how an individual animal’s story can be a powerful tool in promoting social change.

Frog gigging — hunting with a three-pronged spear — is a dying art that nevertheless draws thousands to Missouri marshes in search of a tasty treat with deep cultural roots.

Recently retired Missouri Department of Conservation Director Sara Parker Pauley talked about the challenges of navigating an agency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri Department of Conservation Director Jason Sumners sees engaging with a community that is technologically more disconnected with nature as a challenge to the goals of conservation.

The Department of Conservation reports a fourth invasive northern snakehead fish was found in Missouri and there has been a confirmed sighting of a fifth. The fish are aggressive predators that can harm native ecosystems.

From “sisterly scuffles” to the “snakey cup of shame,” naturalist Lauren Baker shares the realities of caring for a two-headed snake.

The Eastern hellbender was raised at the St. Louis Zoo and released into the Gasconade River. Five years later, researchers found him guarding 86 eggs in the same place.