Between the early 1980’s and 2000, most States conducted annual bald eagle surveys. Since then, many states recognized that annual surveys were no longer necessary. That is why you will not see annual data after 2000. On August 9, 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.
General Statistics for Endangered Species current as of October 15, 2009
How many species in the United States are listed as threatened or endangered?
614 U.S. animal species are listed.
747 U.S. plant species are listed.
How many species in the United States are proposed for listing as threatened or endangered?
18 U.S. animal species are currently proposed for listing.
46 U.S. plant species are currently proposed for listing.
How many listed species have designated critical habitat?
539 U.S. species have designated critical habitat.
How many candidate species are there?
138 animal species are candidates for listing.
110 plant species are candidates for listing.
How many habitat conservation plans (HCPs) have been approved?
1017 habitat conservation plans have been approved (849 current, 168 expired).
How many listed species have approved recovery plans?
1134 species have approved recovery plans.
Have you heard of The Penguin Project? Neither had I until I had the opportunity to attend the Wildlife Conservation Expo in San Francisco on October 3rd. Well, The Penguin Sentinels (formerly the Penguin project) has been established to protect and study the largest Magellanic penguin colony in the world. And for the last 25 years that is exactly what they have been doing. Here are the numbers from 1983-2008:
A total of 56,289 penguins banded
-42,137 chicks, 2,194 resighted
25,472 eggs measured
174,019 chick measurements
-56,568 individual chicks
443 satellite tags deployed
1,838 books of data
2,358,205 records
Check out The Penguin Sentinels great website!
Whaling data by scientific permit, aboriginal catches, and whales taken under objection by the International Whaling Commission from 1985-2007
For more information check out Thriving Oceans and “Whaling under the guise of science”
More than 1,000 species of sharks and rays inhabit the earth’s oceans
Basking sharks filter up to 1,500 gallons of water per hour
The smallest is a lantern shark, averaging just 8 inches
The largest fish in the world is the whale shark and can reach lengths of over 40 to 60 feet
The fastest shark is the Mako, which has reached speeds of more than 45 miles per hour
Blue sharks have been tracked swimming more than 10,000 miles
Sharks may hear a fish a mile away
Sharks can smell blood in the water from 1/3 of a mile away
The Spiny dogfish has a gestation period close to 2 years, which makes it one of the longest of any animals
Spiny dogfish females are thought to reach breeding age at 35 years
Dusky shark females reach breeding age at 20 years
The smalltooth sawfish population has declined by 99%
The IUCN estimates that 20% of sharks are in danger of extinction
Worldwide shark takes have tripled since 1985
Tens of millions of sharks are accidentally caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries each year
According to Oceana, “estimates of the total number of sharks killed each year for their fins range from 26 to 73 million per year.”
Data: Ocean Conservancy and Oceana
869 species are Extinct or Extinct the Wild and this figure rises to 1,159 if the 290 Critically Endangered species tagged as Possibly Extinct are included.
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
Biologist, wildlife advocate, conservationist and simply captivated by marine life. Currently working to complete a full life's circle balancing work, life and a desire to spark worldwide wildlife preservation...and now bringing you the numbers and stats about our planet and its inhabitants. That's me, so check out the site and take a peek at "About The Site" page.
