An endangered species is a taxonomic group (typically at the species level) that faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future across all or a significant portion of its range, as determined by quantitative assessment criteria such as population size, rate of decline, geographic range, and degree of habitat fragmentation. In conservation biology and environmental policy, endangered status guides prioritization of management actions, legal protections, and resource allocation. Scientific evaluation commonly uses standardized frameworks (e.g., formal Red List–type criteria) based on demographic trends, reproductive rates, and known or projected threats, including habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and climate change.
Nature is not doing well in Australia. Many unique mammals, birds and insects are struggling. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.
Ecology
Aug 9, 2026
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Lethal bird flu is now spreading in Australia. This is bad news for many native species.
Plants & Animals
Aug 6, 2026
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The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has now spread from migratory birds to infect resident Australian birds. Clusters of dead birds have been found in several locations. The virus will inevitably infect other wildlife, most ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2026
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Australia is now confronting an outbreak of a deadly bird flu strain. As of Monday, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus had been detected in 78 wild birds across mainland Australia. Until now, there had been no evidence of a ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2026
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Australia's unique animal species are in sharp decline, with more than 40 mammal extinctions over the past 238 years. This atrocious mammal conservation record is the worst in the world.
Ecology
Aug 4, 2026
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Deep in the forests of North Sumatra, Indonesia, lives the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), the world's rarest great ape. Fewer than 800 individuals remain, confined to the Batang Toru ecosystem, a landscape that ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2026
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Shedd Aquarium has sent four zebra shark eggs to contribute to a conservation effort for the endangered species, marking the Chicago nonprofit's first delivery to Raja Ampat, Indonesia. As a founding partner of ReShark, Shedd ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2026
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In southeastern Madagascar, patches of forest that were once cut down to make way for farms are slowly regenerating naturally after being left to lie fallow. But recovering a native forest needs more than just gaining tree ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 3, 2026
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Much like caviar, shark fins are a luxury product and delicacy in parts of the world. And like wild caviar, demand for shark fins has posed an incredible threat to species that can't reproduce quickly enough to keep up.
Plants & Animals
Jul 31, 2026
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Constant scratching, bumpy skin and tufts of lost fur. Those are just some of the signs that an animal has scabies, a severe and potentially fatal skin disease caused by tiny mites (Sarcoptes scabiei) that burrow into the ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2026
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