Endangered & Extinct Species

Only two northern white rhinos remain, and they’re both female – here’s how we could make more

‘Really sad moment’: bogong moth among 124 Australian additions to endangered species list

Ecologists say numbers declined by about 99.5% three years ago, likely due to drought, pesticides and light pollution.

By Lisa Cox

New UK Red List for birds: more than one in four species in serious trouble

The latest assessment of the status of all the UK’s 245 regularly occurring bird species – Birds of Conservation Concern 5 – shows that 70 species are now of ‘highest conservation concern’ and have been placed on the assessment’s Red List. The newly revised Red List now includes familiar species, such as the Swift, House Martin and Greenfinch that have been added for the first time.

Sharks will soon have their own ‘superhighway’ in the Pacific Ocean

Plans to create a 500,000 sq km marine reserve in the South Pacific could help whale sharks, turtles and other endangered species to recover, say conservationists

By Gavin Haines

The five biggest threats to our natural world ... and how we can stop them

From destructive land use to invasive species, scientists have identified the main drivers of biodiversity loss – so that countries can collectively act to tackle them.

By Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston

Historic reintroduction reverses extinction of England’s rarest frog

The northern pool frog, England’s rarest amphibian, has been successfully reintroduced to Thompson Common, in Norfolk – reversing its disappearance from there in the 1990s. Thompson Common was the last site at which this species occurred prior to its extinction from England.

200th osprey chick for pioneering Rutland Osprey Project

A ground-breaking project that reintroduced ospreys to England and helped bring them back to Wales has seen its 200th chick fledge this year.

What is mass extinction and are we facing a sixth one?

Human activity is killing nature at an unprecedented rate. We are now experiencing the consequences in the form of a possible sixth mass extinction.

By Tammana Begum

Biodiversity: we can map the biggest threats to endangered species in your local area

An article from The Conversation.

By Louise Mair, Research Associate in Biodiversity Conservation and Policy, Newcastle University & Philip McGowan, Professor of Conservation Science and Policy, Newcastle University

5 threats to UK wildlife

We need to act quickly to restore nature to its glorious best.

UK extinct species rediscovered in the Outer Hebrides

Buglife is delighted by the recent rediscovery of a species of caddisfly previously believed to be extinct across the UK. Once found in the fens of East Anglia, Limnephilus pati was presumed extinct in the UK in 2016 with no British records for over 100 years. Elsewhere, there are only 16 historical sites scattered across Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Poland.

How hybrids could help save endangered species

An article from The Conversation.

By Lilith Zecherle, PhD Candidate in Conservation Biology, Liverpool John Moores University, Hazel Nichols, Senior Lecturer in Biosciences, Swansea University & Richard Brown, Professor of Animal Evolution, Liverpool John Moores University

The first endangered American animal has been cloned

By Vanessa Bates Ramirez

Wildlife trafficking driving ‘severe declines’ in traded species, finds study

Animals traded for pet industry, bushmeat, traditional medicine, ivory and lab use declined locally by up to 99.9%.

By Phoebe Weston

How lockdown has helped the world’s endangered species bounce back

With tourists absent, everything from coral reefs to rhinos has benefited.

BySarah Marshall; Andrew Purvis and Mark Eveleigh

At least 28 extinctions prevented by conservation action

Conservation action has prevented the global extinction of at least 28 bird and mammal species since 1993, a study led by Newcastle University and BirdLife International has shown.

Newcastle University Press Office

Five reasons people buy illegal wildlife products – and how to stop them

An article from The Conversation.

By Laura Thomas-Walters, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling, Amy Hinsley, Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford & Diogo Veríssimo,Research Fellow in Conservation Marketing, University of Oxford

Biodiversity crisis: quarter of UK’s mammals at risk of extinction, first official Red List for coun

Wildcats, red squirrels and beavers among most threatened animals.

By Harry Cockburn

Illegal ivory trade shrinks while pangolin trafficking booms, UN says

The demand for pangolin scales has increased tenfold, while the price of ivory has halved.

By Marcus Parekh

Beavers born in Essex for ‘first time since Middle Ages’

Over 400 years after they were hunted to extinction, species has been reintroduced in county to tackle flooding.

By Harry Cockburn