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WWF is committed to saving endangered species. Learn more about the species we are working to protecting from becoming endangered or extinct.
- Common Name
WWF is committed to saving endangered species. Learn more...
- Tiger
About 4,500 tigers remain in the wild, but much more work is...
- Javan Rhino
The population in Ujung Kulon National Park represents the...
- Scientific Name
Learn more about the species we are working to protecting...
- Monarch Butterfly
WWF works to preserve vital butterfly habitat in Mexico’s...
- Sri Lankan Elephant
The Sri Lankan subspecies is the largest and also the...
- Whale
Unfortunately, their large size and mythical aura does not...
- Bornean Elephant
The smallest Asian elephant subspecies, Bornean elephants...
- Common Name
Learn about the threats and conservation efforts for 10 species that are critically or endangered on the IUCN red list, such as Javan rhinos, Amur leopards and mountain gorillas. See photos and facts of these rare and amazing animals that are facing extinction.
Learn what makes a species endangered and how humans and nature can threaten their survival. Explore examples of endangered animals and plants, and the causes and solutions for their conservation.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Amazing species. More than 44,000 species are threatened with extinction. That is still 28% of all assessed species. Amphibians. 41% Mammals. 26% Conifers. 34% Birds. 12% Sharks & Rays. 37% Reef corals. 36% Selected Crustaceans. 28% reptiles. 21% Cycads. 70% Take action.
- Overview
- Related: Iconic Endangered Species
- A world of green slime?
- Saving more species
- Value nature not stuff
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A landmark global assessment warns that the window is closing to safeguard biodiversity and a healthy planet. Yet solutions are in sight.
The bonds that hold nature together may be at risk of unraveling from deforestation, overfishing, development, and other human activities, a landmark United Nations report warns. Thanks to human pressures, one million species may be pushed to extinction in the next few years, with serious consequences for human beings as well as the rest of life on Earth.
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This critically endangered South China tiger lives at the Suzhou Zoo in China. This is a species that may be gone from the wild now. As of 2015 there were only 100 in captivity.
This critically endangered South China tiger lives at the Suzhou Zoo in China. This is a species that may be gone from the wild now. As of 2015 there were only 100 in captivity.
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
Based on a review of about 15,000 scientific and government sources and compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries, the global report is the first comprehensive look in 15 years at the state of the planet’s biodiversity. This report includes, for the first time, indigenous and local knowledge as well as scientific studies. The authors say they found overwhelming evidence that human activities are behind nature’s decline. They ranked the major drivers of species decline as land conversion, including deforestation; overfishing; bush meat hunting and poaching; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species.
In parts of the ocean, little life remains but green slime. Some remote tropical forests are nearly silent as insects have vanished, and grasslands are increasingly becoming deserts. Human activity has resulted in the severe alteration of more than 75 percent of Earth’s land areas, the Global Assessment found. And 66 percent of the oceans, which cover most of our blue planet, have suffered significant human impacts. This includes more than 400 dead zones—where scant life can survive—that collectively would cover the state of Oregon or Wyoming.
The new report paints “an ominous picture” of the health of ecosystems rapidly deteriorating, said Sir Robert Watson, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which conducted the global assessment. IPBES is often described as the equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change for biodiversity and does scientific assessments on the status of the non-human life that makes up the Earth’s life-support system.
“We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life worldwide,” Watson said in a statement.
“My biggest personal concern is the state of the oceans,” Watson told National Geographic. “Plastics, dead zones, overfishing, acidification... We’re really screwing up the oceans in a big way.”
Protecting nature and saving species is all about securing the land and water plants and animals need to survive, said Jonathan Baillie, executive vice president and chief scientist of the National Geographic Society. Protecting half of the planet by 2050, with an interim target of 30 percent by 2030, is the only way to meet the Paris climate targets or achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for the world, Baillie said.
Forests, oceans, and other parts of nature soak up 60 percent of global fossil fuel emissions every year, the report found. “We need to secure the biosphere to protect the climate and help buffer us from extreme weather events,” Baillie said.
Coral reefs and mangroves protect coastal areas from storms such as hurricanes. Wetlands reduce flooding by absorbing heavy rainfall. Yet each of these ecosystems has declined dramatically, with wetlands down to less than 15 percent of what they were 300 years ago and coral reefs facing a global bleaching crisis.
Nearly 100 groups around the world (including the National Geographic Society and the Wyss Campaign for Nature) have endorsed the goal of protecting half of the planet by 2050. Recently, 19 of the world’s leading scientists published a study to make a science-backed plan for an interim step that would protect 30 percent by 2030 under what’s called a Global Deal for Nature. The proposed protection does not mean “no go” areas, but rather areas protected from resource extraction and land conversion. Sustainable uses would be permitted in all but the most sensitive areas, the groups wrote.
“The international community has both the time and the tools to safeguard nature and slow the ongoing wildlife extinction crisis,” Brian O’Donnell, director of the Wyss Campaign for Nature, said in a statement.
National Geographic Society and the Wyss Campaign for Nature are working together to inspire the protection of 30 percent of the planet by 2030.
In order to safeguard a healthy planet, society needs to shift from a sole focus on chasing economic growth, the summary report concludes. That won’t be easy, the report acknowledges. But it could get easier if countries begin to base their economies on an understanding that nature is the foundation for development. Shifting to nature-based planning can help provide a better quality of life with far less impact.
Putting that concept into practical terms, the report says countries need to reform hundreds of billions in dollars in subsidies and incentives that are currently given to the energy, fishing, agricultural, and forestry sectors. Instead of driving additional exploitation of the world’s natural resources, those monies should be shifted to incentivize protection and restoration of nature—such as underwriting new reserves or reforestation programs, the report said.
“We need to change what we value: nature, ecosystems, social equity, not growing the GDP,” Obura said.
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Three New Marine Parks Protect Stunning Biodiversity
The other evidence gathered by IPBES shows that nature managed by indigenous peoples and local communities is in generally better health than nature managed by national or corporate institutions, despite increasing pressures, said Joji Cariño, a senior policy advisor at the Forest Peoples Programme, a human rights organization.
A global assessment by IPBES finds that human activities are driving nature's decline and threatening biodiversity and human well-being. The report calls for transformative change and protecting half of the planet by 2050.
Learn how many species are threatened with extinction and why they are changing status over time. Find out the reasons for changing status, the taxonomic coverage, and the best estimates of threatened species by group.
The IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. It provides data, trends, categories and metrics to inform conservation action and policy.
