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Browse the list of species by conservation status, from critically endangered to vulnerable. Find out more about the animals that WWF is working to protect from extinction.
- Javan Rhino
Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino...
- Whale Shark
Demand for their meat, fins and oil remains a threat to the...
- Hector's Dolphin
Hector’s dolphins are the smallest and rarest marine...
- Amur Leopard
Support WWF in its efforts to protect the species and its...
- Red Panda
Learn about the ways WWF works to protect endangered...
- Sunda Tiger
The island of Sumatra is the only place where tigers,...
- Javan Rhino
- Javan Rhinos. Once found throughout south-east Asia, Javan rhinos have suffered a staggering decline in their numbers due to hunting and habitat loss.
- Amur Leopard. The Amur leopard is one of the rarest big cats in the world, with only around 100 individuals left in the wild. Although their wild population seems to be stable and increasing, these leopard subspecies are still critically endangered since 1996.
- Sunda Island Tiger. The Sunda Island tiger, or the Sumatran tiger, is the smallest tiger subspecies in the world, weighing up to 140kg. For reference, the tigers that live in the Amur region are the biggest of all the big cats where males can weigh up to twice as much as Sunda Island tigers.
- Mountain Gorillas. The Mountain gorilla is a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, which lives in two isolated populations in the high-altitude forests up in the volcanic, mountainous regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park of Uganda.
Learn about the IUCN Red List, the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species. Find out how species are classified into nine categories based on their risk of extinction and what actions are needed to protect them.
- Overview
- The Red List
- Endangered Species Act
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The term "threatened" is broader than you might think. Discover the origins and meaning of threatened species.
The word “threatened” can conjure alarming images of a species on the brink of disappearing forever. The term’s actual meaning, however, is not necessarily that dire—depending on who you ask.
Established in 1964, the Red List indicates the global conservation status of animals, plants and fungi. It keeps track of species that have undergone global assessments of their extinction risk and sorts them into eight categories: data deficient, least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild and extinct. Under Red List guidelines, species that are rated vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are also considered threatened.
The status of a species on the Red List changes periodically. A plant or an animal that is considered threatened today may not be threatened a year from now. The Red List category that a species falls into depends on its population size, geographic range, past reductions in population, and probability of extinction in the wild.
In 1973, the U.S. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to try to prevent species from becoming extinct. The law classifies plants and animals as endangered if they’re at risk of extinction through all or most of their geographic areas. Species are listed as threatened if they’re likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.
To classify a species, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service considers damage to its habitat, overuse of it, disease or predation, inadequate protection, and other factors. It’s illegal under the Endangered Species Act for a person to hunt, kill, capture, or otherwise harm a threatened animal without a permit. States might also have separate laws governing activity that involves endangered and threatened animals.
Unlike species listed as endangered, those classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act can be taken from the wild for exhibition in a zoo or for educational reasons. State natural resource departments also can move threatened species if it’s part of a conservation effort. To protect a threatened species, the Fish & Wildlife Service can add other conservation-minded regulations.
The ultimate goal of the Endangered Species Act is to take species off the list of species that the act protects. When a plant or an animal is no longer marching toward extinction, the federal law has done its job.
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Conservation at a Crossroads
Learn the difference between the Red List and the Endangered Species Act, two common systems of classifying a species’ extinction risk. See examples of threatened species, such as polar bears, and how they are protected.
- 91 min
Browse the list of species by common name or scientific name and learn about their conservation status. Find out which animals are critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened according to WWF.
Germany. Philippines. United States. Federal. States. See also. Notes and references. Further reading. Threatened species. A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future.
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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 on 157,190 species, of which 44,016 are threatened with extinction, and shows trends and conservation metrics.
