Endangered species

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. Many countries have laws offering special protection to these species (forbidding hunting, banning their habitats from development, etc.) to prevent this.

Many of these laws are controversial. Typical areas of controversy include: criteria for placing a species on the endangered species list, and criteria for removing a species from the list once its population has recovered; whether restrictions on land development constitute a "taking" of land by the government, and the related question of whether private landowners should be compensated for the loss of use of their land; and obtaining reasonable exceptions to protection laws.

A listing as an endangered species can backfire, as it makes a species more valuable and more desirable for collectors and poachers.

The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that endangered species continuing to survive. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.

The best-known worldwide conservation status listing is the IUCN Red List, but many more specialized lists exist.

The following conservation status categories are recommended for use in Wikipedia entries. They are loosely based on the IUCN categories.

• Extinct: the last remaining member of the species had died, or is presumed to have died beyond reasonable doubt. Examples: Thylacine, Dodo.
• Extinct in the wild: captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population. Examples: Dromedary, Przewalski's Horse.
• Critical or critically endangered: faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future.
• Endangered: faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future.
• Vulnerable: faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term.
• Secure or lower risk: no immediate threat to the survival of the species.

Table of contents

1 Endangered mammals: 2 Endangered birds: 3 Endangered reptiles: 4 Endangered amphibians: 5 Endangered plants 6 See also 7 External links

Endangered mammals:

• Aye-aye
• Bighorn Sheep
• Blue Whale
• Bonobo
• Chimpanzee
• Chinese River Dolphin and other river dolphins
• Elephant
• Fin Whale
• Gelada
• Giant Panda
• Giant pangolin
• Golden Lion Tamarin
• Gorilla
• Indri
• Leopard
• Orangutan
• Pere David's Deer
• Proboscis Monkey
• Red Panda
• Sea Otter
• Sei Whale
• Snow Leopard
• Steller's Sea Lion
• Tiger
• Vaquita

Endangered birds:

• Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)
• Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis)
• Bali Starling (Leucospar rothschildi)
• California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
• Chatham Albatross (Thalassarche eremita)
• Chinese Crested Tern (Sterna bernsteinii)
• Christmas Island Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi)
• Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)
• Gurney's Pitta (Pitta gurneyi)
• Hawaiian Crow (Corvus hawaiiensis)
• Indian White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
• Ivory-billed Woodpecker (probably extinct)
• Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus)
• Junin Grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii)
• Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)
• Kalinowski's Tinamou (Nothoprocta kalinowskii)
• Kiwi (Apteryx australis, A. hastii, A. owenii)
• Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
• Magdalena Tinamou (Crypturellus saltuarius)
• Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra)
• Mauritius Parakeet (Psittacula eques)
• Nene (Branta sandvicensis)
• Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi)
• Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
• Ridgway's Hawk (Buteo ridgwayi)
• Sao Tome Grosbeak (Neospiza concolor)
• Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)
• Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)
• Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii)
• White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
• Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)

Endangered reptiles:

• Ripley's Turtle

Endangered amphibians:

• Desert slender salamander (Batrachoseps aridus)
• Israel painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer)
• Italian spade-footed toad
• Palmate newt (Triturus helvetica)

Endangered plants

About 6% of the 300,000 identified species are endangered due to overcollection or destruction of habitat, for example. Pollinator decline is also a factor for some species.

• African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha), due to forest clearance
• Baishanzu fir (Abies beshanzuensis), southeast China, three trees known on an isolated mountain summit
• Chilean wine palm (Juba chilensis), due to land clearance
• King of the Paphs Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum) of Asia, due to overcollection
• Lobster claw (Clianthus puniceus) of Australia, due to overgrazing.
• Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) of Europe, due to overcollection
• Pinus squamata, southwest China, about 20 trees known
• Saguaro cactus (Carnegia gigantea) of North America, due to overcollection, slow maturing, and slow breeding

See also

• Conservation status
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
• International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• Extinct birds

External links

• The Apes