Endangered Animals In The World

An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct. Endangered (EN), as categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after Critically Endangered (CR).

In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3079 animal and 2655 plant species as endangered (EN) worldwide.[1] The figures for 1998 were, respectively, 1102 and 1197.

Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Population numbers, trends and species' conservation status can be found in the lists of organisms by population.

The IUCN categories, with examples of animals classified by them, include:

Extinct (EX) : no remaining individuals of the species

Extinct in the wild (EW) : Captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population.

Critically endangered (CR) : Faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future.

Endangered (EN) : Faces a high risk of extinction in the near future.

Vulnerable (VU) : Faces a high risk of endangerment in the medium term.

Near-threatened (NT) : May be considered threatened in the near future.

Least concern (LC) : No immediate threat to species' survival.