Animal Extinction Facts
- As estimated 50 percent of all endangered species live in the rain forest. The planet’s largest rain forest –The Amazon – lost more than 17 percent of its forest cover in the last century due to human activity.
- Between 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been scientifically identified as extinct.
- In the United States, 735 species of plants and 496 species of animals are listed as threatened or endangered.
- 266 of these listed species have recovery plans currently under development.
- An extinct species is one that is no longer living. The passenger pigeon, the dodo, and the Stegosaurus are examples of extinct species. These animals no longer exist on the earth.
- One quarter of all mammal species face extinction in 30 years.
- Humans currently consume 50% of the Earth's available freshwater, leaving what's left over for all other species.
- 90 percent of all large fishes have disappeared from the world's oceans in the past half century.
- The number of lions left in Africa has fallen 90% in 20 years -- there are now only 20,000 remaining.