The death of a tiny fish in the desert

In 2016, a controversial killing in Nevada sent a man to prison. The victim? An inch-long Devils Hole pupfish.

Pupfish killers.
(Image credit: National Park Service via AP)

Excerpted from an article that originally appeared in High Country News on April 15, 2019. Reprinted with permission.

They passed around a bottle of Malibu rum as gunshots bellowed in the desert night. A trio of young men had set up camp near the unincorporated town of Crystal, 80 miles outside of Las Vegas. As recently as 2005, the tiny town hosted two brothels, but by April 2016, it was pretty much empty, ideal for carefree camping on a moon-like stretch of desert, the perfect place to pass around a bottle and a shotgun for some bunny blasting.

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