Extinct in the wild

In addition to Extinct species, this website also records species that are Extinct in the Wild (EW). This includes species that are now only found in captivity, cultivation or as naturalized population. Extinct in the Wild species are in many respects Extinct, as they no longer play a functional role in their ecosystems. Also, because successful re-introductions are rare, it cannot be assumed that most of these species will be restored to the wild.

The number of EW species (animals and plants) at the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has increased from 50 in 2000, 60 in 2004 to 65 in 2006 (with subspecies included: 78 in 2006). The growth in the number of EW species is easier to document because these species are usually well monitored and  conservationists are usually involved in keeping the species alive in captivity or cultivation. However, proving that a species is EW can take years, as it requires confirmation that the last wild individual has died. 

Three species appear to have genuinely moved from Critically Endangered to Extinct in the Wild since 2000, all of them from the Hawaiian Islands. These include two plants, the ‘Oha Wai Clermontia peleana and Haha Cyanea pinnatifida, and one bird, the Hawaiian Crow Corvus hawaiiensis. The Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), is known from captive populations, the last known individual in the wild disappeared at the end of 2000, and the species may well have gone extinct, primarily through trapping for trade and from habitat loss. However, it cannot yet be presumed to be Extinct in the Wild until all areas of potential habitat have been thoroughly surveyed. Any remaining population is likely to be tiny, and for these reasons it is treated as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild).

The 48 animals at the subjoined list are from the database of The 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. For more information about reintroduced animals at this page, you can click here.

Mammals (7)

Scientific Name:	Common Name:	IUCN Links:
Ammotragus lervia ornata	Egyptian Barbary Sheep	IUCN Species Information
Equus ferus	Wild Horse	IUCN Species Information
Equus ferus przewalskii	Mongolian Wild Horse	IUCN Species Information
Gazella saudiya	Saudi Gazelle	IUCN Species Information
Macropus eugenii eugenii	Tammar Wallaby	IUCN Species Information
Mustela nigripes	Black-footed Ferret	IUCN Species Information
The Black-footed Ferret is currently listed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN Red List, pending reassessment. This ferret is one of North America's rarest mammals and it depends on an endangered ecosystem for survival. The population declined throughout the 1900s and in 1985, the last known free-ranging population collapsed due to an outbreak of canine distemper and the species was considered Extinct in the Wild. In the fall of 1991, 49 captive animals were reintroduced into the wild in Wyoming. The reintroduced animals were designated an “experimental” population. Additional ferrets have been introduced each year since 1991. Unconfirmed sightings from other areas continue to be reported. There are still about 400 black-footed ferrets in captivity. In Montana, parts of Phillips County are targeted for ferret reintroduction. Source: The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/news/factsheets/ferret.html). Photo © Dean Biggins.
Oryx dammah	Sahara Oryx	IUCN Species Information
The Sahara Oryx or Scimitar-horned Oryx was once one of the most common large mammals of northern Africa. Overhunting for the animal's meat, hide and magnificent horns, combined with habitat loss and caused major declines in the species and by the end of the 20th century none were known to remain in the wild. Currently listed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN Red List, the species is now part of a major captive breeding and reintroduction programme. There has, however, been a recent unsubstantiated sighting of four animals in northern Niger.  Photo © Antonio di Croce.

Birds (4)

Scientific Name:	Common Name:	IUCN Links:
Corvus hawaiiensis	Hawaiian Crow	IUCN Species Information
This bird moved from Critically Endangered to Extinct in the Wild at the 2004 IUCN Red List of threatened Species. The last two known wild individuals of this species disappeared from Hawaii in 2002. Habitat alteration, collecting and shooting, introduced predators (e.g. rats, the Indian mongoose) and predation from the native Hawaiian Hawk, and avian malaria and pox carried by introduced mosquitoes have contributed to the crow's decline. Some individuals remain in captive breeding facilities and a reintroduction plan is being developed. Photo © Jack Jeffrey Photography
Gallirallus owstoni	Guam Rail	IUCN Species Information
Mitu mitu	Alagoas Curassow	IUCN Species Information
The last (unconfirmed) sighting of this Brazilian species was in the late 1980s and it is now Extinct in the Wild. There are two captive populations and, although reintroduction appears difficult, an apparently suitable forest remnant has been identified.
Zenaida graysoni	Socorro Dove	IUCN Species Information

Reptiles (3)

Scientific Name:	Common Name:	IUCN Links:
Aspideretes nigricans	Black Soft-Shell Turtle	IUCN Species Information
Geochelone nigra abingdoni	Abingdon Island Tortoise	IUCN Species Information
This Abington Island Tortoise is the very last of his subspecies and is named Lonesome George. George is now living at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz.   For more information about Lonesome George: The Story of Lonesome George, at the website of The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands.
Geochelone nigra ephippium	Duncan Island Tortoise	IUCN Species Information

Amphibians (1)

Fish (13)

Scientific Name:	Common Name:	IUCN Links:
Acanthobrama telavivensis	Unknown (freshwater fish from Israel)	IUCN Species Information
Fifty years ago, this fish species was very abundant in the coastal rivers of Israel. There was a sharp decline between 1950 and 1970. Then the population was stable until 1999. In 1999, drought resulted in the riverine habitat disappearing and the population declined almost to extinction. The last remaining individuals were taken from the remnants of its habitat and bred in captivity in an attempt to save the species. Two subpopulations now have been reintroduced back into the wild from this captive stock. One subpopulation has not reproduced and the status of the other subpopulation is not known. Until it can be confirmed that the species is breeding successfully in the wild, the species is listed as Extinct in the Wild in the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Photo © Menachem Goren
Ameca splendens	Goodeid	IUCN Species Information
Cyprinodon alvarezi	Perrito de Potosi	IUCN Species Information
Cyprinodon longidorsalis	Cachorrito de Charco Palmal	IUCN Species Information
Epalzeorhynchos bicolor	Red-tailed Shark	IUCN Species Information
Haplochromis ishmaeli	Unknown (fresh water fish from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)	IUCN Species Information
Haplochromis lividus	Unknown (freshwater fish from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)	IUCN Species Information
Haplochromis perrieri	Unknown (fresh water fish from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)	IUCN Species Information
Megupsilon aporus	Cachorrito Enano de Potosi	IUCN Species Information
Paretroplus menarambo	Unknown	IUCN Species Information
This species is a freshwater fish originally endemic to Madagascar and now presumed Extinct in the Wild. Despite targeted surveys, no specimens have been collected in recent years: the last reports of this species are from the late 1990s (de Rham and Nourissat 2002). However, breeding populations are maintained in captivity thanks to animals collected in 1993 and shipped back to Old World Exotic Fish in Homestead, Florida, USA. Given that the species was only known from a single locality it is according to the IUCN reasonable to assume that sufficient survey has been conducted to assess it as Extinct in the Wild in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The main causes for the loss of this species were deforestation, which had a detrimental effect on the species freshwater habitat, introduced alien species and overfishing. Photo © Paul Loiselle
Platytaeniodus degeni	Unknown (freshwater fish from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)	IUCN Species Information
Skiffia francesae	Tiro	IUCN Species Information
Yssichromis "argens"	Unknown (fish from Lake Victoria, Tanzania)	IUCN Species Information

Crustaceans (1)

  Insects (1)

Molluscs. (18)

Reintroduced Animals

Scientific Name:	Common Name:	IUCN Links:
Bison bonasus	European Bison (Wisent)	IUCN Species Information
Canis lupus baileyi	Mexican Grey Wolf
There are only about 200 Mexican wolves in the world. Most are part of a captive breeding program in 40 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries located in the United States and Mexico to prevent extinction of the subspecies. In March 1998, the first 11 Mexican wolves from captive stock were reintroduced into the wild in the Apache National Forest in southeastern Arizona under a program to re-establish the subspecies to a portion of its historic range. Two additional wolves were released later that year. Twenty-one wolves have been released in 1999. Of the 34 wolves released: five have been shot; one disappeared; a vehicle hit one; five were returned to captivity; and at least 22 are free-ranging. The status of released Mexican wolves can change unexpectedly. For more information: The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Photo: Captive Mexican wolf at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, photographed by Jim Clark, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2001.
Canis rufus	Red Wolf	IUCN Species Information
Elaphurus davidianus	Pere David's Deer	IUCN Species Information
Gymnogyps californianus	California Condor	IUCN Species Information