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

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. For more information, visit www.clubpenguin.com

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.

IUCN Red List Endangered species

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

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:South China Tiger, 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, Small-clawed Otter , Maned Wolf
• Least Concern: no immediate threat to the survival of the species. Examples: Brown Rat, Nootka Cypress, Wood Pigeon

United States

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

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.

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]

Captive breeding programs

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.

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.

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]

Gallery

<gallery> Image:Urocyon littoralis full figure.jpg|The endangered Island Fox Image:Sea otter cropped.jpg|The endangered Sea Otter Image:Bison skull pile, ca1870.png|American bison skull heap. There were as few as 750 bison in 1890 from economic-driven overhunting. Image:California-condor.jpg|Immature California Condor Image:Loggerhead close up.jpg|Loggerhead Sea Turtle Image:croceum.jpg|Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (photo courtesy of Don Roberson) Image:Arowana.jpg|An asian arowana </gallery>

See also

• Biodiversity
• CITES
• Conservation status
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• EDGE Species
• Endangered Species Act
• Ex-situ conservation
• Extinction
• Habitat fragmentation
• In-situ conservation

• IUCN Red List
• List of Conservation topics
• List of endangered animal species
• Rare species
• Red and Blue-listed
• Species at Risk Act
• Species-area curve
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species
• Wildlife disease
• World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival (WCBESCAS)
• World Conservation Union (IUCN)
• World Wide Fund for Nature

Notes

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.

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