Endangered Species Day is observed on the third Friday in May, 16 May in 2025. 10 facts about endangered species:
A species is classified as endangered when its population has declined by at least 70 percent from known causes, or by at least 50 percent from unknown causes.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List (founded in 1964) lists the conservation status of the worlds animals and plants. The categories are: Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Threatened, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Conservation Dependent and Least Concern. There are also categories for species for which data is not available.
Factors deciding which category a species goes into include: The rate of population decline; The geographic range; Whether the species already has a small population; Whether the species has a very small geographic distribution or lives in a restricted area; Whether the results of a quantitative analysis indicates a high probability of extinction in the wild.
Each year, thousands of scientists around the world assess and reassess species according to these criteria. The IUCN Red List is regularly updated accordingly.
Biodiverse regions that require protection on the grounds that they host a significant number of endangered species are called hot spots.
1 million animal and plant species are currently under threat of extinction. As many as 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction including 440 tree species with than 50 left in the wild.
A species is declared extinct after many years of not being spotted. It is probable that there are many species already gone that we are unaware of. Or species which have been declared extinct but there are still some out there which are good at hiding.
While extinction does happen naturally, the rate expected would be about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times that. 99% of currently threatened species are at risk because of human activity. This includes: habitat loss, introducing new animals or plants from elsewhere which become invasive; over-hunting and overfishing (the passenger pigeon, Tasmanian tiger and steller’s sea cow all went extinct for this reason); and, needless to say, climate change.
Scientists say that ‘extinction breeds extinction’. Close ecological interactions of species on the brink tend to move other species towards extinction, creating a domino effect.
Internationally, 195 countries have signed an accord to create Biodiversity Action Plans that will protect endangered and other threatened species. (Though if one of those was the US, it’s probably down to 194 since saving animals isn’t as important to them these days as lining billionaire’s pockets.)
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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