UNIT 3 - THREATENED SPECIES.

[ÀNGEL PUENTE]

ENDANGERED SPECIES.

An endangered species is any species that is likely to become extinct in the near future. The threat is due to habitat loss, hunting, and declining food stocks. Thousands of animals are in danger of disappearing.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the highest authority on threatened species; classifies these species in three different categories in its "Red List of Threatened Species", and they are: 1st. Vulnerable species (VU), 2nd. Endangered species (EN), 3rd. Critically Endangered Species (RC).

The assignment to each category depends on the risk of extinction; each species undergoes. Measurements of their populations show population growth rates; and this indicates the degree of threat. At a popular level, we can consider endangered species, those of the three categories.

They are threatened species, the species that we see photographed on the optional forum page, from unit 3. Among them are: the Galapagos albatross (24,000), the mountain gorilla (720), the Sumatran tiger (700), bluefin tuna, giant panda (between 500 and 1000) and mountain gorilla (720); all are included in the "IUCN Red List as endangered species", and the Java rhino (between 44 and 66) is listed as a critically endangered species.

Along with them are the polar bear, the Pacific walrus, the Magellanic penguin, the leatherback turtle and the monarch butterfly; which are the most threatened animal species in the world, according to WWF.

[ÀNGEL PUENTE]

ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES (continued).

And outside of the "threatened species" range, there are two categories, which can be defined as "least threatened": "near threatened species (NT)" and "conservation dependent (CD)".