Endangered Animals and Conservation

A species is endangered when its numbers have fallen so dangerously low that it risks becoming extinct — gone from the Earth forever, like the dodo or the woolly mammoth. Extinction is a natural part of life's history, but today species are disappearing far faster than normal. Scientists estimate the rate is now up to 1,000 times the natural background rate, and almost all of this speeding-up is caused by human activity.

Scientists keep a careful watch on which animals are in trouble using a system called the IUCN Red List. It sorts species into categories — from "least concern" for animals doing fine, through "vulnerable" and "endangered", to "critically endangered" for those closest to vanishing. This list helps the world know which animals need help most urgently.

Animals become endangered for several main reasons. The biggest is habitat loss, as forests are cleared for farms and cities. Others include illegal hunting and poaching for fur, horn, or ivory; pollution that poisons land, rivers, and seas; invasive species brought from other places that outcompete or eat native animals; and climate change, which shifts the conditions animals have always depended on.

The good news is that conservation can work, and there are inspiring success stories. In 1986, only about 620 mountain gorillas remained in the wild. Thanks to protected national parks, anti-poaching patrols, and teaching local communities to value the gorillas, the population has climbed back to over 1,000. In New Zealand, the kakapo — a plump, flightless parrot — has recovered from just 51 birds in 1995 to over 250 today, each one given its own name and watched over.