Endangered species

Conservation status
	Risk of extinction
Extinction
	Extinct; Extinct in the Wild;
Threatened
	Critically Endangered; Endangered; Vulnerable; Threatened;
Lower risk
	Conservation Dependent; Near Threatened; Least Concern;
See also
	World Conservation Union; IUCN Red List;

A cheetah is an example of an endangered animal

An endangered species is a species (a population) of animals, plants or other organisms that is in danger of becoming extinct. This could happen because there are few of that animal left, its predators have grown in number, or the climate that it lives in is changing, or the places it lives in have been destroyed. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has worked out that endangered species are 40% of all organisms.^[1]

Many countries have laws to protect these plants and animals. These laws, if obeyed, can save species by stopping hunting, land development or making parks and reserves. Poaching and other illegal activities, however, can still destroy them.

Only a few plants and animals at risk of extinction, mostly vertebrates, are put on the lists and get legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or will become extinct, without people knowing about it.

Mammal

This is a list of some mammals that are endangered. They include:

Asiatic linsang
Asiatic lion
Black-footed ferret
Black rhinoceros
Blue whale
Dhole
Ethopian wolf
Hairy-eared dwarf lemur
Indonesian mountain weasel
Snow leopard
Tiger^[2]^[3]
White rhinoceros ^[4] (currently considered as near endangered)

Birds

Endangered birds include:

Endangered Species Media

Golden lion tamarin, an endemic and one of the endangered species saved from extinction in Brazil
The California condor is a critically endangered species. Note the wing tags used for population monitoring.
Photo of Pusa hispida saimensis, also known as Saimaa ringed seal, from 1956. Living only in Lake Saimaa, Finland, Saimaa ringed seals are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals.
The Siberian tiger is an Endangered (EN) tiger subspecies. Three tiger subspecies are already extinct (see List of carnivorans by population).
Blue-throated macaw, a critically endangered bird
Brown spider monkey, a critically endangered mammal
Siamese crocodile, a critically endangered reptile
American burying beetle, an endangered species of insect
Kemp's ridley sea turtle, a critically endangered reptile
The Mexican wolf, the most endangered subspecies of the North American grey wolf. Approximately 143 are living in the wild.