Endangered organisms

A species classified as very likely to become extinct in the near future is termed an Endangered species. On the IUCN Red List's threat scale, Endangered (EN) is the second most severe conservation status a wild population can hold, ranking just below Critically Endangered (CR). The scale of the problem has grown sharply over time: in 1998 the Red List carried 1,102 animal species and 1,197 plant species classified as endangered, and by 2012 those figures had climbed to 3,079 animal species and 2,655 plant species worldwide — a clear nume …