How big is the problem of endangered animals?
How many species of endangered animals do you think that there are in the world today?
             10-20?
             Up to 100?
            More than 200?

Actually, there are over 250 that just begin with the letter "A"!

From Abrawayaomys Ruschii (Rushi's Rat) to Zyzomys Pedunculatus (Central Rock Rat) there are literally thousands of endangered animal species worldwide. Check the latest list at Wikipedia's list of Endangered Animals. It is a sobering compilation and one that will continue to grow if nothing is done to help the world's animals that are at risk.

More than 15,000 animal species are known to be in danger of extinction. Information about fish, reptiles, and amphibians is limited, but evidence indicates many of them are in similar danger. Species may be disappearing before we even know they exist. The current rate of extinction is already as much as 10,000 times faster than the average rate over the past 60 million years and is accelerating.

Why Are Animals Endangered?
It can be a combination of different reasons, many of which are entirely reversible with targeted care. Check some of the possible causes -

• Habitat loss or degradation
• Over-exploitation
• The introduction of exotic creatures
• Industrial and/or extractive activities
• War
• Expanding human settlement
• Changes to the animals' environment
• Changes in the balance of predators
• Changes in the number of animals on which they depend
• Agricultural changes
• Climate changes
• Pollution
• Hunting
• Any combination of these factors

The quest for profit drives much of the destruction. The international smuggling of live animals is worth as much as £8 billion annually, second only to the international drug trade. The trade in dead animals or their parts is believed to be worth a similar amount.

In regions such as the Amazon, plants, animals, and indigenous peoples and their cultures are disappearing as the forest is destroyed and the habitat transformed.

An area equal to the size of New York City is deforested every day in the Amazon. Over a single year, 50,000 species of plants and animals are lost.

Follow our Endangered Animal News section and do keep coming back because we will be continually updating it with stories of endangered species internationally.