the.com/endangered species
nature's way of putting something on a countdown clock nobody agreed to start.
means a species whose population has dropped so low that extinction is a real near-term risk without intervention.
from formalized by the US Endangered Species Act of 1973, though the concept trailed centuries of hunting, habitat loss, and the dodo already being a cautionary tale by then.
iucn categoriesseven stages from least concern to extinct
success storybald eagle delisted in 2007 after ddt ban
quiet crisismost losses are insects, rarely counted
current countover 44000 species listed as threatened globally
for instance
vaquita porpoise — fewer than 10 left in the gulf of california, 2023
amur leopard — under 100 remain in wild russian forests
northern white rhino — only two females survive, both infertile
kakapo parrot — flightless new zealand bird, population around 250