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Online games. Play and learn about Albatrosses. Free online games for kids and adults.

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Endangered species are like fire alarms. They tell us about problems in our home we call Earth. If we listen to their alarm calls, they could help us improve our lives and the health of our planet.

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List of the world's rarest endangered mammals and their estimated populations

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Species at Risk Public Registry - Home - SARA

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife: Endangered Species

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife: Endangered Species

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You Are Here: Endangered Species Home "

Ensuring an Effective Endangered Species Act

The ESA provides a broad and flexible framework to facilitate conservation with a variety of stakeholders. Learn about the tools in place that help us work with our diverse network of partners to deliver meaningful conservation.

Humpback Chub Reclassified from Endangered to Threatened: Collaboration by Partners Has Improved Conservation Status

Thanks to the hard work of state, regional, Tribal and federal agencies, as well as private partners, significant progress has been made conserving and recovering the humpback chub...
News Release

What's in Your Backyard?

Learn about the endangered and threatened species in your area and what is being done to help recover them.

An Integrated Framework for Conservation

The Species Status Assessment was developed to enhance conservation success under the ESA. This framework is based on the best available scientific and commercial information, and it delivers the foundational science for informing all ESA decisions...

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species, Sarah Leon

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You Are Here: Endangered Species Home " The ESA provides a broad and flexible framework to facilitate conservation with a variety of stakeholders. Learn about the tools in place that help us work with our diverse network of partners to deliver meaningful conservation.

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When U.S. lawmakers passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, many of North America's most iconic plants and animals were teetering on the brink of extinction. Some of those have since rebounded thanks to three decades of federal protection, and several dozen have even been "delisted," including American alligators, bald eagles, brown pelicans, eastern Stellar sea lions, Tennessee purple coneflowers and the Oregon chub.

Despite such success stories, however, the global effort to stop Earth's sixth mass extinction is far from over. The U.S. still ranks No. 2 worldwide in endangered species by country, behind only Ecuador, with about 1,500 domestic species listed. (Those are also joined by nearly 600 foreign species, which are listed in the U.S. to help control international wildlife trafficking). According to a 2015 study, species are now disappearing up to 114 times more rapidly than the historical "background" extinction rate.

A stuffed passenger pigeon on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. (Photo: James St. John/Flickr)

Americans have already watched - and helped - several ancient species die out during the country's brief history, perhaps none more notoriously than the passenger pigeon. The U.S. government is now trying to protect hundreds more from that fate, a task that involves exhaustive research into things like population trends, habitat size and reproduction rate, not to mention collaboration with local governments and landowners. The number and urgency of endangered species also vary widely by state, as the infographic above illustrates, requiring customized plans for each one's recovery.

Hawaii has less than 0.2 percent of U.S. land area, for example, yet more than 25 percent of all federally endangered species are found there. Most are plants and birds, threatened mainly by invasive species and habitat loss. Nationwide, flowering plants represent more than half of listed species, followed by fish, birds, mammals and clams. But that still isn't the whole picture, since 144 " candidate species" are still waiting to join the list, a limbo that can last years.

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Which U.S. states have the most endangered species? [Infographic]

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When U.S. lawmakers passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, many of North America's most iconic plants and animals were teetering on the brink of extinction. Some of those have since rebounded thanks to three decades of federal protection, and several dozen have even been "delisted," including American alligators, bald eagles, brown pelicans, eastern Stellar sea lions, Tennessee purple coneflowers and the Oregon chub.

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of the species that have gone extinct in Hawaii's recent history), but serve as a reference for those species that we do know have gone extinct during the last 200 years in the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands.