In order to be listed as a candidate, a species has to qualify for protected standing underneath the Endangered Species Act. Whether or not a species is listed as endangered or threatened then is determined by a variety of components, together with the urgency and whether sufficient protections exist via different means.
© Only Fabrizio/FotoliaThe luxurious mackintosh that insulates sea otters from the chilly waters that they inhabit nearly led to its extinction. A target of the industrial fur commerce, the species was nearly worn out, with only some 2,000 of an estimated 300,000 left by 1911. “The ironic a part of that is that in order to be endangered, you first have to be harmed,” says Srinivasan. Until people settle for responsibility for their position in inflicting and perpetuating endangerment, says Srinivasan, the listing will proceed to develop. Perhaps that’s the next frontier in trendy attitudes in the direction … Read More