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A List of Endangered Animals in 2008

Animals usually become endangered when man's activities disturb their natural habitat or environment. Others are endangered by man's hunting for their body parts, such as tusks or fins, or from the introduction of exotic species that threaten their survival. Some nations have united with others to protect endangered animals.

  1. African Elephant

    • African elephant poaching has caused a serious decline in the elephant population. Today there is a ban on world ivory trade, but the poaching continues. From 1979 to 1989, half the population of Africa's elephants were slaughtered. The Save the Elephants organization has been working since 1993 to reverse this trend, but the elephant remains on the endangered species list. Aside from human exploitation, the elephant's habitat and traditional migratory route is being reduced due to expanding human population and farmland encroachment.

    Woodland Caribou

    • Woodland caribou in Canada and parts of the United States including Montana, Idaho, Alaska and Washington were placed on the endangered species list in 1983. There have been attempts to save the woodland caribou. The last review, conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000, were inconclusive and the listing remained. In 2008, a five-year review of the Selkirk Mountain caribou population was completed by the FWS, which was still working on a recovery plan for the Selkirk Mountain population in April 2011. The last recovery plan was implemented in 1994. No critical habitat rules have been established for the caribou. It remained on the list in 2011 and monitoring of the populations in several areas was under way. The caribou is the only deer species in which both male and female grow antlers.

    San Joaquin Kit Fox

    • The smallest fox in North America, the San Joaquin kit fox, is native to California and has been endangered since 1967. Wildlife refuges where the kit fox is known to be found include those in Kern and Merced counties and in Pixley, but this species is protected anywhere it lives. The kit fox is as small as a house cat, weighing about 5 lbs., but has long legs and large ears. Its coat is gray in the summer and silvery gray in the winter. The tip of its tail is black, and it has a white belly. The habitat of the kit fox is being encroached upon mostly by industries, many of which are working to accommodate the species today. There are 22 habitat conservation plans for the kit fox, most of them by oil companies that are or were using the land inhabited by the fox and one safe harbor agreement, the Artificial Escape Den Project, agreed to by Paramount Farming.

    Pacific Salmon

    • Pacific Salmon are among animal populations called evolutionary significant units, which is a term used to prioritize endangered species. A lot of discussion has gone on among courts, state and local governments, tribal officials, environmental groups and the public about how to restore the salmon population, which suffered when man began diverting waterways they inhabited. Its endangered species status slowed or halted some of the water diversions and dams on the West Coast. The restoration focuses evaluating how or if dams are interfering with the species' survival, among other factors.

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