Freshwater Animals

The Creatures of the World's Rivers and Lakes

Meet some amazing creatures that inhabit our lakes and rivers, and see how we're protecting them.

Fresh water is essential to life on Earth. All land-dwelling creatures need fresh water to survive. Freshwater animals depend on clean water to survive, and The Nature Conservancy works to protect the planet's freshwater resources, and the freshwater animals that depend upon them.

Amazon River DolphinAmazon river dolphin in Brazil © Flip Nicklin / Minden Pictures
Amazon River Dolphin

Freshwater dolphins are rare, and becoming rarer. The dolphins of the Amazon are under threat.

American AlligatorAmerican Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) at the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. American alligators live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and swamps, as well as brackish environments. © Kent Mason
American Alligator

Like its cousin the saltwater crocodile the American alligator is a formidable predator, and is elusive, despite its large size.

OttersRiver otters © Jack Mills
River Otter

These playful creatures need healthy rivers to survive, as do their much larger relations, the giant otter of South America.

CT EX Top 5 Migration IconSnow Geese Ryan Hagerty/US Fish & Wildlife
Snow Goose

The annual migration of these geese by their millions is one of Planet Earth's most impressive natural wonders.

Hippopotamus 215x143September 2009. Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) wade in the Zambezi River in Zambia, Africa. The Conservancy, WWF, International Crane Foundation, together with several universities and hydroelectric dam operators, launched a new program that aims to restore natural flows, wetland habitats, floodplain agriculture and fisheries to the Zambezi River. Home to some of the continent’s most expansive wetlands, Africa’s fourth-longest river is under great pressure to provide water and energy for industrial development in Zambia, Mozambique and other growing nations. The Zambezi River Environmental Flows Programme will seek to balance these interests with ways to operate the river’s largest hydroelectric dams in a more environmentally friendly manner. © Daniel White/2009 The Nature Conservancy
Hippopotamus

These giants of Africa's rivers can be remarkable dangerous, especially to people who come too close in small boats.

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Photo Special Features TabLion in Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa. © Kenneth K. Coe

Close Encounters with Nature

Whether scary or exciting, nature has a way of sneaking up on you. See stories

Arden OConnor 215x143Arden O’Connor. © Lajla LeBlanc

Nature Matters

Hear some of nature's success stories and see how nature matters to us all. Watch videos

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rivers-lakes-cta Elakala Falls, Blackwater State Park of West Virginia. © Troy and Rusty Lilly
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