The Scope of the Problem
As of now there are 41,415 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Out of those 41,515 species 16,306 of them are endangered and threatened with extinction (IUCN). This number has gone up by 16,118 since last year alone. To make that number a bit more understandable this means that one in every four mammals are endangered, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians, and 70% of the world’s plants.
One of the most endangered species in the world is the Amur leopard. There are only 57 living individuals left in the wild, up by 27 since 2007 (WWF). The cause for their endangerment is poachers. They were extensively poached for their beautiful, warm, spotted fur until there were barely any left. Their prey is also hunted in large amounts which means that a large population can not be sustained. This is a similar story for many animals who have gone extinct as well.
