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By the Numbers: Endangered Species Day

In honor of Endangered Species Day (May 18), we take a look at the numbers. Here are some of the threats faced:  habitat loss and degradation; food systems (impacting habitats through development or agriculture, and overfishing); climate change; species exploitation.

30

The percentage of wetlands lost in the last 40 years.

32

The percentage of listed species that are declining.

33

The percentage decline in grassland butterflies between 1990 and 2012.

39

The percentage decline in wetland-dependent species between 1970 and 2012.

58

The percentage decline of vertebrate animals – mammals, birds and fish – between 1970 and 2012.

68

The percentage of listed species that are stable or improving.

75

The percentage of the world’s coral reefs that are threatened. While reefs cover less than 0.1 percent of the total area of the world’s oceans, they support more than 25 percent of all marine fish species.

81

The percentage decline of freshwater species between 1970 and 2012.

99

The percentage of species ever listed under the act that remain on the planet today.

172

The number of species that potentially could have become extinct from 1973 to 1998 if the Endangered Species Act protections were not in place.

286

The number of species on the candidate list, deemed as deserving of protection.

885

The number of listed domestic species that have never had their critical habitat designated as called for in the act.

1,459

The number of animals listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Source:  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Federation

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