At present, there are more than 44,000 species around the world that are facing the possibility of extinction. Keeping a watchful eye over them is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), composed of governments and civil society organisations. Since 1964, the IUCN has compiled the Red List of Threatened Species, a comprehensive guide to the state of nature and the likelihood of plant and animal extinction. From ‘least concern’ to ‘extinct’, each species that’s assessed by the IUCN is placed on the scale to indicate their conservation status.
For example, to be categorised as ‘critically endangered’ a species needs to meet specific conditions, such as fewer than 250 mature individuals, a population reduction of 70 per cent or more in the past ten years or a population that continues to decline by 25 per cent or more over three years. This informative tool not only lists species’ status in the world, but also acts as a reference for many different agencies and organisations to enact policy changes and protections in the hopes of protecting wildlife.
The IUCN list is filled with 157,100 species, of which 28 per cent are ‘threatened with extinction’. The IUCN aims to assess a further 160,000 species and transform the IUCN Red List into a ‘barometer of life’. Here are just some of the many critically endangered animals that are facing extinction.
DUSKY GOPHER FROG (RANA SEVOSA)
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