 Get involved in raising |
Endangered Species
Fact Sheet
We are facing a global crisis. More and more species are facing extinction – largely due to human activities and not natural causes. Even ones that were very common thirty years ago are dropping at an alarming rate: the dramatic decline in common Britain garden birds such as song thrushes, house sparrows and starlings – each of which have more than halved since the early 1970s – shows that no species is entirely free from the threat.
How many species are affected?
The most reliable data on the status of species is provided by IUCN – The World Conservation Union in their Red List of Threatened Species. The graphic provides data from the 2004 edition.
There has been a sharp rise in the numbers of amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders) known to be endangered because of the recent completion of the Global Amphibian Assessment. The status of reptiles and fish species are generally poorly known, and frighteningly little is known about 99.9% of the world’s insects. There has been some improvement in a small number of mammal and bird species which were critically endangered owing to systematic conservation programs, but the overall picture is of more and more succumbing to the perils of habitat destruction, invader species, environmental damage, and other factors.
Who decides which species are endangered?
There are two main bodies which monitor the status of threatened species.
CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species – is concerned with those which need legal protection against international trade. Appendix I lists those which are currently in danger of extinction and for which trade is therefore generally prohibited. This includes primates such as the Orang-utan, chimpanzee and gorilla; carnivores such as the tiger, cheetah, the Giant Panda and Asiatic black bear; and other animals like Asian elephant, black rhinoceros and the Mongolian wild horse. Appendix II lists those which, although they may not be endangered at present, may become so unless trade is strictly regulated – such as the wolf, hippopotamus and polar bear.
The IUCN – World Conservation Union – provides a Red List of endangered species, based entirely on whether they are threatened with extinction, irrespective of trade implications. There are a variety of criteria used. For example, for critically endangered species, any of these criteria would be sufficient:
- a population reduction of 80% over ten years, or
- an area of occupancy less than 100km2 combined with a declining population, or
- fewer than 250 mature individuals in a steadily declining population
Threatened species which are in danger of extinction but are not likely to attract traders will appear in the IUCN red list but not the CITES appendices.
Global distribution of endangered species
One of the problems of conservation is that the endangered species tend to be in the world’s poorest regions. The chart below shows which regions have the greatest proportions of the world’s critically endangered mammals: over half are found in sub-Sharan Africa, South America and South & South-East Asia; a tiny proportion are found in Europe and North America. Indeed, there are three times as many critically endangered mammal species in Indonesia (15) as in Europe and North America combined. Part of the reason for this is grim: there are few in the west because we killed off the rarer species in the centuries before their conservation became an important issue.
Conservation of these species is thus as much about the economic development of these regions as it is about preserving animals: enabling locals to own the concept of conservation – and to reap the benefits from doing so.
Of the nearly five hundred mammal species which are endangered, those that receive the most publicity tend to be the large, charismatic species like gorillas and tigers. There are many which are rarely heard of: on the next page we show three which are threatened with extinction but are less well known than the glamour species like lions, tigers and gorillas.
Iberian lynx - Critically endangered
| Length | 85-110cm (+ tail 12-30cm) |
| Weight | M: 13kg; F: 9kg |
| Lifespan | <13 yrs |
| Distribution | South-west Spain; Portugal |
| Habitat | Mountainous scrub and woodland |
| Diet | Rabbits (90% by weight) |
| Population | 1980: ~1000; 2005: 100-120 |
| See also: | SOS Lynx IUCN Cat Specialist Group Latest lynx news from WWF |
Half the size of the Eurasian lynx, the Iberian lynx is one of two European species which are critically endangered (the other being the Mediterranean monk seal). Unlike its larger counterpart, which is a forest animal with a taste for deer, the Iberian lynx lives in mountainous scrub land and has a diet consisting almost exclusively of rabbits. It was already vulnerable at the start of the twentieth century but the spread of myxomatosis in rabbits affected the Iberian lynx badly.
After the rabbits developed immunity to myxomatosis, they then succumbed to a type of pneumonia. However, most lynxes are killed by man: 44% of the deaths are caused by traps and snares. With fewer than 120 individuals remaining, it is close to becoming the first species of cat to become extinct in ten thousand years, when the sabre-toothed tiger disappeared at the end of the last major Pleistocene glaciation.
Golden-rumped sengi - Endangered
| Length | 28cm (+24cm tail) |
| Weight | 0.5kg |
| Lifespan | 4-5 years |
| Distribution | Small coastal forests in Kenya |
| Habitat | Dense woodland and forest |
| Diet | Insects, other invertebrates |
| Population | ~5,000 |
| See also: | Elephant-shrew website Kenya Wildlife Service |
‘Sengi’ is the preferred name for the elephant shrew, a group of species once regarded as shrews but, despite their size, may actually be closer to elephants. They are exclusively African, being found mainly in the south and east, usually in lowland regions. The golden-rumped sengi is one of two species which are endangered. It is found only in small, isolated forests on the Kenyan coast north of Mombasa, chiefly the Arabuko-Sokoke forest, considered the second-most strategically important forest for biodiversity throughout the African continent.
Threats to their existence come from the expanding human population, logging, forest clearance schemes, and trapping for meat. Conservation efforts are focussed on the Arabuko-Sokoke forest via organizations such as the Kenya Wildlife Service. It is critically important to involve the local community, for whom the forest has traditionally been a source both for subsistence and for pests such as baboons and elephants.
Sumatran rabbit - Critically Endangered
| Length | 35-40cm |
| Weight | ~1.5kg |
| Lifespan | unknown |
| Distribution | Sumatra |
| Habitat | Mountainous forests |
| Diet | Plant material |
| Population | unknown |
| See also: | Kerinci Seblat National Park |
This is one of the few photographs of the Sumatran rabbit – a secretive, nocturnal animal, which lives only in the dense forests of the Barisan mountains which line the south-west coast of Sumatra. Unlike its common European counterpart it is shy and slow-moving. Very little is known about it: Most recent sightings have been during forest clearance projects, which are also the biggest threat to their existence. They are also threatened by local hunters by whom dead striped rabbits end up at meat markets.
It was believed to be the only striped rabbit in existence until the mid-1990s, when a previously undiscovered species was found in the Annamite mountains, which separate Laos and Vietnam. This is a region of extremely rich biodiversity, where several other species have recently been discovered; however, it is already threatened by a big hydroelectric project. Ultimately, the survival of the forests of Laos and Sumatra – and of the species within them – will only be assured if the locals, many of whom are very poor, can be brought into the conservation effort and can benefit from it.
