Saving endangered
species

What are endangered species?

Endangered species are plants and animals whose numbers have fallen so low that they are at risk of disappearing altogether. When a population shrinks to a critical level, the species may vanish from the wild entirely unless action is taken to protect it. Understanding which species are at risk, and why, is the first step towards turning that decline around.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies species by how threatened they are, from vulnerable through endangered to critically endangered, based on factors such as population size, habitat range, and rate of decline.

Baby Sumatran elephant.

Read more: Why should endangered species be protected?

The current state of endangered species

The scale of the challenge is significant. The IUCN Red List, the world's most comprehensive record of the status of life on Earth, now assesses more than 172,000 species, of which over 48,000 are threatened with extinction. That is around 28% of every species assessed: more than a quarter of known life judged to be at risk. The numbers span every branch of life, from mammals and birds to amphibians, fish, corals, and plants.

Read more: Silverback gorilla—endangered species or not?

And the trend is moving the wrong way. Species are now being lost at a rate estimated to be tens to hundreds of times the natural background, and that pace is still accelerating. Yet timely action can still make a real difference.

Why it matters

Species do not exist in isolation. Each one occupies a place in a wider web, and many play roles that hold whole ecosystems together. Pollinators and seed-dispersers keep plant life regenerating, predators keep prey populations in balance, and so-called keystone species shape the habitats around them. When one disappears, the effects ripple outward, often weakening the systems that other species, and people, depend on.

Read more: The importance of forests in bumble bee conservation

The losses reach beyond ecology. Many threatened species carry deep cultural and economic value, supporting tourism, local livelihoods, and traditions built up over generations. Protecting them is not only about saving individual animals or plants, it is about keeping the ecosystems that sustain us functioning as a whole.

What puts species at risk?

Habitat loss and fragmentation The biggest single driver of species decline. Deforestation, urban growth, and the conversion of land for agriculture destroy and break up the places species need to feed, shelter, and breed, leaving populations isolated and far more vulnerable.

Read more: The importance of forests in bumble bee conservation

Changing environmental conditions Shifting temperatures, altered rainfall, and extreme weather are reshaping habitats faster than many species can adapt. Polar and coastal species are especially exposed: melting sea ice threatens species that depend on it, while warming seas drive the coral bleaching that puts entire reef ecosystems at risk.

Hunting and poaching The demand for animal products such as ivory, horn, fur, and meat continues to drive illegal hunting, often targeting species that are already at risk. Poaching is particularly damaging when it removes apex predators and other species central to keeping ecosystems in balance.

Read more: Africa's elephants are two different species, and both are endangered

Pollution Chemical pollutants such as pesticides and heavy metals build up through the food chain, harming health and reproduction, while pollution of rivers, lakes, and seas can make entire habitats unliveable for the species that depend on them.

Invasive species Introduced into habitats where they have no natural competitors, invasive species can outcompete native wildlife, disrupt food chains, and carry diseases, pushing already vulnerable native species closer to the edge.

Polar bear sitting on the edge of an ice floe in the Svalbard Archipelago.

Conservation in action

The encouraging truth is that conservation works. Around the world, governments, organisations, scientists, and local communities are bringing species back from the edge through a combination of proven approaches.

Protected areas and national parks give populations the space to recover, while habitat restoration rebuilds the forests, wetlands, and reefs that species depend on. Breeding and reintroduction programmes help rebuild numbers where they have fallen dangerously low, and bans on hunting and trade, backed by international agreements, ease the pressure on the species most at risk. None of this works in isolation, but together these efforts have already pulled species back from the brink of extinction.

• The southern white rhino: Once down to as few as 50 to 100 animals in the early 1900s, the southern white rhino has recovered to more than 15,000 today through sustained protection and careful breeding, and is now classified as near threatened rather than endangered. It stands as one of conservation's great success stories, even as poaching pressure continues.

• The bald eagle: Brought back from the brink in North America through habitat protection and the banning of the pesticide DDT, the bald eagle's recovery shows how targeted action can reverse even severe declines, while restoring the wider ecosystem around it.

Read more: From the brink of extinction: four endangered species that made a comeback

Green Earth’s commitment to saving endangered species

At Green Earth, restoring natural habitats is at the heart of what we do, and healthy habitats are what endangered species need most. By rebuilding degraded land and replanting native trees, our projects recreate the homes that threatened species depend on, while capturing carbon and supporting local communities at the same time.

Read more: From the ground up to space: seeing Green Earth’s impact in Uganda

Our Uganda reforestation project shows what this looks like in practice. The project area is home to the Bulindi chimpanzees, who lost an estimated 80% of their habitat to deforestation. Working with our ecologists, the project plants indigenous trees chosen specifically to rebuild that habitat, with the aim of planting at least one million trees a year. It is one of many ways our work helps species recover by restoring the ecosystems they rely on.