What are endangered plants?
Endangered (EN) species are considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. For a species to be considered endangered by the IUCN it must meet certain quantitative criteria which are designed to classify taxa facing a very high risk of extinction. More than 16,000 of the nearly two million documented species on our beautiful planet are currently classified as endangered – an all-time high.
Which of the big 5 are endangered?
Although poaching and environmental pressures threaten all of The Big Five animals, there are differences in conservation status among them. Rhinos are critically endangered, whereas lions, elephants, and leopards are vulnerable and Cape Buffalo are the least threatened. But you might wonder why those specific animals are part of the Big Five? Is a giraffe not large as well? Here is a factoid: the term ‘Big Five’ was coined by big game hunters and is not derived from the size of the animals. These animals proved to be most difficult to hunt, mostly due to their ferocity when cornered.The “Big 5” animals are the lion, leopard, African elephant, rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo. They are the most sought-after wildlife on African safaris. You’ll find them across national parks and game reserves in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, and beyond.