BUTLER, Ga. (AP) — In a meadow where golden, waist-high grasses rippled beneath a brilliant blue sky, Georgia state herpetologist John Jensen hunched over a hole in the ground at Black Creek Natural Area.

It was kind of a big hole, fringed with roots and spiderwebs. Jensen ran a long cable down into the dark, peering into a yellow box where a TV screen showed what was happening 10 feet down, then 15 feet.

Recommended Stories

First case of flesh-eating screwworm confirmed in US wildlife

Endangered Species Act overdue for major overhaul

This Earth Day, progress for our species protects others