Ever wondered what it takes to get on the threatened species list? This explainer demystifies the rigorous process, using the cute little predator that stores energy in its tail as an example.
The Socorro dove (Zenaida graysoni) was confirmed to be extinct in the wild in 1981.
Johann Alexi/Freigabe-Nachweis
New research traces the effect of drought on red kite chicks born during particularly dry years.
Habitat degradation, insufficient food and water and climate change have led to a decline in the number of North American monarch butterflies, which is now on the IUCN’s Red List.
(Shutterstock)
The iconic monarch butterfly has been added to the Red List of endangered species, but hasn’t received protection in the US yet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Michael Hannah, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
While current extinction rates remain lower than during previous mass extinction events, the number of species under threat of dying out is growing, reflecting the true scale of loss.
IUCN workers staff pavilions at the seventh World Conservation Congress in Marseille, southern France.
Gao Jing/Xinhua/Alamy Live News
To get a grip on the biodiversity crisis, we’ll need to understand how wildlife is threatened in our own backyard.
An African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo.
Nicolas Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A new review of the status of African elephants finds scientific grounds for dividing them into two species, and reports that both have suffered drastic population declines since 1990.
Bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, N.D.
Jay Gannett
H. Resit Akcakaya, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)
Scientists have tracked endangered species for years. Now they’re figuring out how to highlight animals and plants that have recovered – but what does that mean?
The conservation concern about these Mantidactylus frogs has been underestimated - until now.
Mark D. Scherz
When Julia Sigwart went looking for the scaly-foot snail – or Sea Pangolin – in the deep ocean, they were hard to find. Now they are seen as endangered from the prospect of deep sea mining.
A giant guitarfish caught in West Papua is hung from a fishing boat. Guitarfish are in trouble, according to the IUCN Red List.
Conservation International/Abdy Hasan