-1.5 billion animals moved across US border by importers from 2000-2006

-That equals 5 pets per person in the US

-90% came from wild populations where disease testing is not mandated

-More than 67% came from Southeast Asia

-52% were only identified by Class

-13.6% were classified by Species

-11.9% were identified by Family

-11.1% were labeled only by Genus

-3.9% were identified by Order

-7.5% of animal imports were labeled as unknown

Data: Conservation Magazine July/Sept 2009

Only 2.7% of the 1.8 million described species have been analyzed.
Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction.

Threatened with Extinction:

38% of all fishes in Europe and 28% in Eastern Africa.
At least 17% of the 1,045 shark and ray species are threatened
12.4% of groupers
 6 of the 7 marine turtle species are threatened with extinction.
27% of the 845 species of reef building corals are threatened
20% of reef building corals are Near Threatened
27.5% of marine birds are in danger of extinction
11.8% of terrestrial birds.
33% of amphibians
Nearly 25% of mammals are threatened with extinction.
28% of Conifers
52% of cycads

Data: Vié, J.-C., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (eds.) (2009). Wildlife in a Changing World – An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 180 pp.

Photo Credit:
Asian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus). Threat category Endangered © Jean-Christophe Vié

Bears vary in size from the 66 pound sun bear to the 1,500 pound brown bear.

Perhaps the most widely publicized symbol of endangered species, the giant panda was limited to only ~1,600 individuals inhabiting the wild bamboo forests in central China and a captive population of about 180 individuals in 2006.

Population of Threatened Bears as of 2007

Polar Bear – 22,000 to 27,000
Spectacled Bear – 18,250
Sloth bear – 10,000 to 20,000+
Asiatic Black Bear – 15,000 to 20,000
Giant Panda – 1,600
Sun Bear – Unknown (it is suspected that the global population of Sun Bears has declined by > 30% over the past 30 years)

Threatened Plant Species: 2008

Vulnerable – 117
Endangered – 101
Critically Endangered – 62
Extinct – 4

Threatened Animal Species (IUCN critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable): 2008

Mammals – 47
Birds – 35
Invertebrates – 32
Fish – 21
Reptiles – 20
Amphibians – 8

The United Nations Environment Programme recorded more than 4.4 million pounds of coral and sponge bycatch in the Aleutian Islands between 1990-2002.

In September 2008, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization failed to reach an agreement that would protect threatened deep-sea zones, although they partially closed two seamount areas with the caveat that 20% is still open to exploratory fishing (NAFO).

“Orange Roughy, one of the most commercially fished deep-water species. Orange Roughy can live for around 150 years and do not begin to breed until they are around 25 years old, making them extremely susceptible to over-fishing.” (NOAA)

Country share of a total 2001 catch of 205,024 tons of high seas bottom trawl:

Spain- 41%
Russia- 14%
Portugal- 7%
Norway- 7%
Estonia- 7%
Faroe Island- 6%
Japan- 4%
Lithuania- 4%
Iceland- 2%
Other- 8%

-Arctic summers may well be ice-free in 30 years, an update to previously released projections that such an event would occur by the end of the century.

- Summer sea ice is expected to decline from its current 4.6 million square kilometers (about 1.8 million square miles) to about 1 million square kilometers (about 390,000 square miles)

-This represents a loss of an area two-fifths the size of the continental U.S.

60-70% of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches

Remaining 30-40% results from small-scale subsistence agriculture.

“Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming.”

Data: Mongabay

-There are approximately 43.6 million acres in national parks, 34.8 million acres in national forests, 20.7 million acres in national wildlife refuges, and 6.5 million acres on the western heritage lands of the Bureau of Land Management.

-More than half, or 57.5 million acres, of all designated wilderness is in the huge national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests of Alaska; more than one-third is in the 11 westernmost contiguous 48 states.

Stats: Wilderness Society

-Volunteers traversed 17,000 miles of coastline and collected 11,439,086 million pieces of trash, from cigarette butts to grocery bags to fast-food wrappers.

-This is equivalent to more than 400 pounds of debris for every mile of beach cleaned.

-Via boats, 1,236 people collected 38,224 pounds of debris that could not be reached from land, and 10,600 divers (organized by the Project AWARE Foundation), dove below the water’s surface to haul out 219,528 pounds.

-A total of 6,485 sites, spanning beaches in South Korea to rivers and waterways in Kansas, were cleaned.

Stats: Ocean Conservancy

39% of aridland birds are species of conservation concern, including 10 federally listed as endangered or threatened. These species are especially vulnerable because of their small ranges or restricted habitat requirements, or both.

60% of all aridland species and 76% of aridland obligate species have declined.

More than 50% of aridland birds are permanent residents of the U.S. borderlands.

174 condors are flying free, and the number is expected to grow each year.

Data: FWS