The 4th of December is World Wildlife Conservation Day.
There are more than 150,300 species on The IUCN Red List, with more than 42,100 species threatened with extinction, including 41% of amphibians, 37% of sharks and rays, 36% of reef building corals, 34% of conifers, 27% of mammals and 13% of birds.
Established in 1964, The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.
The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, critical to protecting the natural resources we need to survive. It provides information about range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats, and conservation actions that will help inform necessary conservation decisions. – International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species
- There are fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans left in the wild making them critically endangered.
- There are only around 3,900 tigers left in the wild. Since the beginning of the 20th century, we’ve lost over 95% of the world’s wild tiger population.
- There are around 1,860 giant pandas left in the wild. After decades of being listed as endangered, in 2016 they got downlisted to vulnerable.
- There are only an estimated 1,063 mountain gorillas left on our planet. Today they can be found living in just two isolated populations across national parks in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
- It’s estimated that there are just over 5,000 black rhinos left in the wild. They are critically endangered and 98% of their population is found in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. World Wildlife Fund
