Endangered

Endangered is a conservation status assigned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on its Red List to indicate that a species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. It belongs to the “threatened” category, alongside Vulnerable and Critically Endangered, with Endangered representing a level of risk greater than Vulnerable but less than Critically Endangered.

The IUCN Red List assesses species against criteria that include observed, estimated, or projected population declines; restricted geographic range; small population size; and quantitative estimates of extinction risk. A species may be classified Endangered if it meets any one of several criteria that imply a high probability of extinction without intervention.

Causes of endangerment typically include habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and emerging diseases. The Endangered designation can guide conservation actions such as legal protection, habitat conservation, pollution control, captive breeding and reintroduction, restoration projects, and international cooperation to regulate trade.

The term is widely used in conservation practice and policy. National lists may use different terms, but IUCN statuses influence laws, funding, and public awareness. Being listed as Endangered signals urgency and the need for coordinated effort, though it does not guarantee recovery.