An endangered species is one that has been categorised by the IUCN as likely to become extinct
- The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) currently lists over 3,000 species as endangered
The determination of a species conservation status (likelihood of becoming extinct) is based on numerous factors:
- These include the rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution and degree of population fragmentation
The IUCN has produced a red list, which classifies species into nine groups:
- Extinct (EX) – no surviving individuals (e.g. tasmanian tiger)
- Extinct in Wild (EW) – captive individuals survive, but there is no wild population (e.g. Barbary lion)
- Critically Endangered (CR) – faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future (e.g. red wolf)
- Endangered (EN) – faces a high risk of extinction in the near future (e.g. snow leopard)
- Vulnerable (VU) – faces a high risk of endangerment in the medium term (e.g. Indian rhinoceros)
- Near Threatened (NT) – may be considered threatened in the near future (e.g. tiger shark)
- Least Concern (LC) – no immediate threat to species survival (e.g. giraffe)
- All other organisms may be listed as Data Deficient (DD) or Not Evaluated (NE)
IUCN Red List
