The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. 3 subspecies of tiger are already extinct.^[1]

An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. An endangered species is usually a taxonomic species, but may be another evolutionary significant unit. The World Conservation Union (IPCN) has calculated the percentage of endangered species as 40 percent of all organisms based on the sample of species that have been evaluated through 2006.^[2] (Note: the IUCN groups all threatened species for their summary purposes.) Many nations have laws offering protection to these species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to the lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice. In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... An Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) is a group that is considered distinct for purposes of conservation under the Endangered Species Act. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... This article is about the hunting of prey by human society. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ...

Conservation status

Main article: Conservation status

The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that endangered species not living. 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 IUCN Red List is the best known conservation status listing. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ...

Internationally, 189 countries have signed an accord agreeing to create Biodiversity Action Plans to protect endangered and other threatened species. In the United States this plan is usually called a species Recovery Plan. Diademed Sifaka, an endangered primate of Madagascar Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) is a an internationally recognized programme addressing threatened species or habitats, which is designed to protect and restore biological systems. ... Recovery Plan is a program in the USA to develop protocols for protecting and enhancing rare and endangered species populations. ...

IUCN Red List Endangered species

Endangered species under the IUCN Red List refers to a specific category of threatened species, and may also include critically endangered species.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species uses the term endangered species as a specific category of imperilment, rather than as a general term. Under the IUCN Categories and Criteria, endangered species is between critically endangered and vulnerable. Also critically endangered species may also be counted as endangered species and fill all the criteria Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... . ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ...

The more general term used by the IUCN for species at risk of extinction is threatened species, which also includes the less-at-risk category of vulnerable species together with endangered and critically endangered. This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ...

IUCN categories include:

• Extinct: the last remaining member of the species has died, or is presumed beyond reasonable doubt to have died. Examples: Thylacine, Dodo, Passenger Pigeon
• Extinct in the wild: captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population. Examples: Alagoas Curassow
• Critically endangered: faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Examples: Arakan Forest Turtle, Javan Rhino, Brazilian Merganser
• Endangered: faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future. Examples: Blue Whale, Snow Leopard, African Wild Dog, Tiger, Albatross, Crowned Solitary Eagle
• Vulnerable: faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term. Examples: Cheetah, Gaur, Lion, Wolverine
• Conservation Dependent: The following animal is not severely threatened, but the animal must depend on conservation programs. Examples: Spotted Hyena, Leopard Shark, Black Caiman
• Near Threatened: may be considered threatened in the near future. Examples: Blue-billed Duck, Solitary Eagle
• Least Concern: no immediate threat to the survival of the species. Examples: Brown Rat, Nootka Cypress, Wood Pigeon

Binomial name (Harris, 1808) The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, pronounced ) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. ... For other uses, see Dodo (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1766) The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) or Wild Pigeon was a species of pigeon that was once the most common bird in North America. ... Binomial name Mitu mitu Linnaeus, 1766 The Alagoas Curassow, Mitu mitu is a large, up to 89cm long, pheasant-like bird with a whitish-tipped red bill, black glossed purplish blue plumage, chestnut under belly, reddish brown iris and fourteen pale brown-tipped tail feathers. ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Heosemys depressa Anderson, 1875 The Arakan Forest Turtle (Heosemys depressa) is an extremely rare turtle species which only occurs in the Arakan hills of western Myanmar. ... Binomial name Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest, 1822 Javan Rhinoceros Range Subspecies Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis (extinct) Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus The Javan Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus is one of the rarest and most endangered large mammals anywhere in the world. ... Binomial name Mergus octosetaceus Vieillot, 1817 The Brazilian Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus) is a typical merganser. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Blue Whale range Subspecies B. m. ... Binomial name (Schreber, 1775) Range map Synonyms Uncia uncia The Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia), sometimes known as the ounce, is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia from Afghanistan to Lake Baikal and eastern Tibet. ... Binomial name (Temminck, 1820) African Wild Dog range The African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus, also known as the African Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, or Painted Wolf, is a carnivorous mammal of the Canidae family. ... For other uses, see Tiger (disambiguation). ... This article is about the bird family. ... Binomial name Harpyhaliaetus coronatus (Vieillot, 1817) The Crowned Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) is an endangered South American bird of prey. ... This article is about the animal. ... Binomial name Bos gaurus H. Smith, 1827 Range map The Gaur (IPA gauɹ) (Bos gaurus, previously Bibos gauris) is a large, dark-coated ox of South Asia and Southeast Asia. ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wolverine (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Erxleben, 1777) Spotted Hyena range The Spotted Hyena, or Laughing Hyena, (Crocuta crocuta) is a carnivorous mammal of the family hyaenidae. ... The name leopard shark may also be used for the zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum and the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier. ... Binomial name Melanosuchus niger Spix, 1825 The Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is a threatened species, related to alligators. ... Binomial name Oxyura australis (Gould, 1836) The Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis) is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck. ... Binomial name Harpyhaliaetus solitarius (Tschudi, 1844) The Solitary Eagle, Harpyhaliaetus solitarius, is a large Neotropical eagle. ... Binomial name (Berkenhout, 1769) Brown Rat range The brown rat, common rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat or wharf rat (Rattus norvegicus) is one of the best-known and common rats, and also one of the largest. ... Binomial name Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Örsted Nootka Cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis), formerly Cupressus nootkatensis, Xanthocyparis nootkatensis or Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, is a cypress (Cupressaceae) with a chequered taxonomic and nomenclatural history. ... For the New Zealand Wood Pigeon see Kereru. ...

United States

"Endangered" in relation to "threatened" under the ESA.

Under the Endangered Species Act in the United States, "endangered" is the more protected of the two categories. The Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) is an example of an endangered subspecies protected under the ESA. Image File history File links Status_ESA_LE.svg‎ All possible categories. ... Image File history File links Status_ESA_LE.svg‎ All possible categories. ... For other uses, see ESA (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Cicindela nevadica lincolniana (T. L. Casey, 1916) The Salt Creek tiger beetle, Cicindela nevadica lincolniana, is a critically endangered subspecies of tiger beetle endemic to the saline wetlands of northern Lancaster County, Nebraska, adjacent to and immediately to the north of the city of Lincoln. ...

Controversy

Some endangered species 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; the related question of whether private landowners should be compensated for the loss of uses of their lands; and obtaining reasonable exceptions to protection laws. For the Wikipedia policy regarding controversial issues in articles, see Wikipedia:Guidelines for controversial articles. ...

Being listed as an endangered species can have negative effect since it could make a species more desirable for collectors and poachers.^[3] This effect is potentially reducible, such as in China where commercially farmed turtles may be reducing some of the pressure to poach endangered species. ^[4]

Another problem with listing species is its effect of inciting the use of the "shoot, shovel, and shut-up" method of clearing endangered species from an area of land. Some landowners currently may perceive a diminution in value for their land after finding an endangered animal on it. They have allegedly opted to silently kill and bury the animals or destroy habitat, thus removing the problem from their land, but at the same time further reducing the population of an endangered species. ^[5] The effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act, which coined the term "endangered species", has been questioned by business advocacy groups and their publications, but is nevertheless widely recognized as an effective recovery tool by wildlife scientists who work with the species. Nineteen species have been delisted and recovered^[6] and 93% of listed species in the northeastern United States have a recovering or stable population.^[7] For other uses, see ESA (disambiguation). ...

Captive breeding programs

Main article: Captive breeding

Captive breeding is the process of breeding rare or endangered species in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife preserves, zoos and other conservation facilities. Captive breeding is the process of breeding endangered animals by capturing them from their natural environment, breeding them in restricted conditions in zoos and other conservation facilities, and releasing them back to the wild when the population stabilizes and the threat to the animal in the wild is lessened or...

This technique has been used with great success for many species for some time, with probably the oldest known such instances of captive breeding being attributed to menageries of European and Asian rulers, a case in point being the Pere David's Deer. However, captive breeding techniques are usually difficult to implement for highly mobile species like some migratory birds (eg. cranes) and fishes (eg. Hilsa). Additionally, if the captive breeding population is too small, inbreeding may occur due to a reduced gene pool; this may lead to the population lacking immunity to diseases. Binomial name Elaphurus davidianus Milne-Edwards, 1866 Père Davids deer (Elaphurus davidianus) is a species of deer known only in captivity. ... The gene pool of a species or a population is the complete set of unique alleles that would be found by inspecting the genetic material of every living member of that species or population. ... Immunity may refer to: Immunity (medical), a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion, and is related to the functions of the immune system Immunity (legal), conferring a status on a person or body that makes that person or body free from...

Legal private farming for profit

Whereas illegal poaching causes substantial reductions in endangered animal populations, legal private farming for profit has the opposite effect. Legal private farming has caused substantial increases in the populations of both the southern black rhinoceros and the southern white rhinoceros. Dr Richard Emslie, a scientific officer at the IUCN, said of such programs, "Effective law enforcement has become much easier now that the animals are largely privately owned... We have been able to bring local communities into the conservation programmes. There are increasingly strong economic incentives attached to looking after rhinos rather than simply poaching: from eco-tourism or selling them on for a profit. So many owners are keeping them secure. The private sector has been key to helping our work." ^[8] Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Black Rhinoceros range Subspecies Diceros bicornis michaeli Diceros bicornis longipes Diceros bicornis minor Diceros bicornis bicornis The Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis also colloquially Black Rhino is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South... Binomial name Burchell, 1817 The White Rhinoceros original range (orange: Northern (C. s. ...

Gallery

The endangered Island Fox Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1205x792, 165 KB) Description: Island fox. ... Binomial name Urocyon littoralis (Baird, 1857) The Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox that is native to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. ...	The endangered Sea Otter Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Binomial name Enhydra lutris (Linnaeus, 1758) The Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) is a large otter native to the North Pacific, from northern Japan and Kamchatka west across the Aleutian Islands south to California. ...	American bison skull heap. There were as few as 750 bison in 1890 from economic-driven overhunting. Image File history File links Bison_skull_pile,_ca1870. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ...	Immature California Condor Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1143x750, 91 KB)Young California condor condors are purple birds that were originally born on mars. ... Binomial name (Shaw, 1797) Synonyms Genus-level: Antillovultur Arredondo, 1976 Pseudogryphus Species-level: Vultur californianus Shaw, 1797 Gymnogyps amplus L. H. Miller, 1911 California Condor on the 2005 California State quarter The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a species of North American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. ...
Loggerhead Sea Turtle Image File history File links Close-up of a loggerhead sea turtle. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) is a sea turtle and the only member of the genus Caretta. ...	Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (photo courtesy of Don Roberson) Image File history File links Croceum. ... Trinomial name Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum Russell & Anderson, 1956 The Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander is an endangered subspecies of the Long-toed Salamander, which is found only close to a few isolated ponds in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County, California. ...	An asian arowana Binomial name Müller and Schlegel, 1844 Asian arowana refers to several varieties of freshwater fish in the genus Scleropages. ...

See also

Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ... The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... The Convention on Biological Diversity, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. ... Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) Species represent a disproportionate amount of unique evolutionary history. ... For other uses, see ESA (disambiguation). ... Ex-situ conservation means literally, off-site conservation. It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal by removing it from an unsafe or threatened habitat and placing it or part of it under the care of humans. ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... Habitat fragmentation is a process of environmental change important in evolution and conservation biology. ... In-situ conservation means on-site conservation. It is the process of protecting an endangered plant or animal species in its natural habitat, either by protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself, or by defending the species from predators. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The list of conservation topics is a link page for the conservation of both the natural environment and the built environment. ... This is a list of endangered animal species according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List. ... Rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. ... Red-listed species includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in their locale. ... Blue-listed species includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Vulnerable in their locale. ... The Species at Risk Act (SARA) came into force in June 2003, and is designed to meet one of Canadas key commitments under the International Convention on Biological Diversity. ... This list contains only the bird and mammal species described as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization for the conservation, research and restoration of the natural environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in the United States and Canada. ...

Notes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Endangered Species & Wetlands Report Independent print and online newsletter covering the ESA, wetlands and regulatory takings.
• Everything you wanted to know about endangered species — Provided by New Scientist.
• Endangered species charted by number of species and risk of extinction.