Portraits of America's Endangered Species

Joel Sartore, who has been called the Richard Avedon of animals, traveled from coast to coast, compiling portraits of American wildlife on the brink of extinction. I love how his photographs of these largely overlooked and unknown creatures give the animals such character against the black or white backdrop- especially the California tiger salamander.

There are more incredibly photos here on NPR's website by way of National Geographic: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/03/rare.html