Endangered Species

An endangered species is a species of organisms facing a very high risk of extinction. There are currently 3079 animals and 2655 plants classified as Endangered worldwide, compared with 1998levels of 1102 and 1197, respectively.

Many nations have laws offering protection to conservation reliant species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creatingpreserves.

It has been estimated that over 40% of all living species on Earth are at risk of going extinct. Internationally, 199 countries have signed an accord agreeing to create Biodiversity ActionPlans, an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems.

The International Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN), the world's main authority on the conservation status of species, lists endangered species in several categories depending on the risk they face.

* Extinct: no longer exist.* Extinct in the wild: captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population.
* Critically endangered: faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediatefuture.
* Endangered: faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future.
* Vulnerable: faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term.
* Near threatened: may be consideredthreatened in the near future.
* Least concern: no immediate threat to the survival of the species.

There are several strategies addressed to increase conservation, but the most effectiveis Captive breeding.

Captive breeding is the process of breeding rare or endangered species in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife preserves, zoos and otherconservation facilities. Captive breeding is meant to save species from going extinct. It is supposed to stabilize the population of the species so it is no longer at risk for disappearing.