Endangered and Threatened Species

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The first animal protection laws came about because people viewed wildlife as assets: food, trophies, or recreation. Today the Endangered Species Act and international laws aim to save species both for their use and nonuse values and for their intrinsic values. The act protects threatened species to the same extent as it protects endangered species.

An endangered species is an animal or plant in immediate danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species has sufficient numbers in its natural range at the moment, but its numbers are declining and it will likely become endangered in the near future. The three main protections provided by the Endangered Species Act are the following: protection against hunting, protection against removal of an animal from its habitat, and protection against the destruction of critical habitats, which are those believed to be essential for the survival of a species.

The FWS enforces the Endangered Species Act; as part of this service it maintains a list of all the U.S. endangered or threatened species. The following table shows the main plant and animal groups on the endangered species list. These groupings and particular species may change periodically as science reveals more about the genetic makeup of plants and animals.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, also called the World Conservation Union) publishes the Red List, on the current status of the world’s animals and plants. The Red List differs from the endangered species list because it includes all species, even those that have gone extinct (since 1500 b.c.e.), plus species that are abundant. Like the endangered species list, the Red List categories change as some populations become more threatened and other populations recover.