KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

This document aims to provide you with an overview of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This presentation has the following structure:

Slide 1 - What is the IUCN? Slide 2 - Extinct (EX) Slide 3 - Case Study – Tasmanian Tiger Slide 4 - Extinct in the Wild (EW) Slide 5 - Critically Endangered (CE) Slide 6 - Endangered (EN) Slide 7 - Vulnerable (VU) Slide 8 - Near Threatened (NT) Slide 9 - Least Concern (LC) Slide 10 - Data Deficient (DD) Slide 11 - Australian Curriculum Mapping KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

What is the IUCN?

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and species. Species are constantly being moved into different criteria depending on the results from regular scientific studies.

Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.

Here is a list of the categories and some interesting and unusual species that feature in each group:

• Extinct (EX) • Extinct in the Wild (EW) • Critically Endangered (CR) • Endangered (EN) • Vulnerable (VU) • Near Threatened (NT) • Least Concern (LC) • Data Deficient (DD) KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining

The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, resembled a large, long dog with stripes, a heavy, stiff tail, and a big head. Its scientific name, Thylacinus cynocephalus, means ‘pouched dog with a wolf's head’. Fully grown, it measured about 180 cm from nose to tail tip, stood approximately 58 cm high at the shoulder, and weighed up to 30 kg.

The Tasmanian tiger was noted as being a shy and secretive animal that avoided contact with humans. When captured, it usually gave up without a struggle and many died quite suddenly when caught, probably from shock.

It is commonly accepted that Tasmanian tigers lived in mainland Australia and Tasmania as well as potentially inhabiting Papua New Guinea; with native Australians and European settlers finally tipping them over the edge to extinction when the last one died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

(The Tasmanian tiger is pictured on the right, second from the top). KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Case Study – Tasmanian Tiger

The Australian Museum has a small Tasmanian tiger pup that was preserved in alcohol in 1866 and, in 1999 they began a project to try to bring the Tasmanian tiger back to life. In 2002, individual Tasmanian tiger genes were successfully replicated. The next stage is to make copies of all the genes of the Tasmanian tiger in order to produce a chromosome.

This is exciting and groundbreaking science, though highly controversial. Scientists continue to debate over whether or not the money spent on the project would be better spent on trying to save other endangered animals such as the close relative of the Tasmanian tiger – the iconic Tasmanian devil. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Extinct in the Wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.

The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah) was once widespread throughout Northern Africa and the Sahara. Recent pressure on the Sahara desert, such as climate change, an increase in human activity as well as a long civil war in Chad, resulted in the scimitar oryx becoming extinct in the wild in the late 1980’s.

The scimitar oryx has shared a long history with humans and was domesticated in Egypt by the Ancient Egyptians for use as both food and offerings to the gods. They were considered a luxury ‘item’ bred by the wealthy, and some people even believe that the myth of the unicorn came about from seeing an oryx with a single horn.

Well adapted to desert environments, they can spend up to nine months without water. Around 44 oryx were captured in Chad in 1967 and all surviving scimitar-horned oryx are descended from this base population. As of 2016, there is currently over 7,000 oryx in captivity across Europe, Northern Africa and in extensive private collections in the United Arab Emirates. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Critically Endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

The Leadbeater’s possum is Victoria’s faunal emblem in Australia. It is a small omnivorous arboreal (tree-dwelling) marsupial with a head and body length between 150 and 170 mm and a tail length between 145 and 180 mm.

The Leadbeater's possum was thought to be extinct for about fifty years, before it was re-discovered in 1961 near Marysville, Victoria. Since then it has been recorded at approximately 300 localities in the tall eucalypt forests of Central Victoria. Following the 2009 bushfires in Victoria, the possum lost 42% of its habitat and estimates of their population in the wild is now under 1,000 individuals. In 2015, they were moved from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Critically Endangered’.

Less than 3% of the Leadbeater’s possum range occurs in nature reserves. Hence the survival of the Leadbeater’s possum is largely dependent on how much timber-harvesting practices take into account the needs of this possum. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild

The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a unique species of dolphin found in coastal areas of South and South East Asia.

The Irrawaddy dolphin has a bulging melon-shaped forehead, short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side of both jaws, and is closely related to the killer whale (orca).

Although sometimes called the Irrawaddy river dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in salty water near coasts, river mouths and in estuaries.

Irrawaddy dolphins are more vulnerable to human conflict than most other dolphins who live farther out in the ocean. They are threatened by overfishing, habitat degradation and pollution. Some populations are at risk of extinction, particularly as they are frequently killed in fishing operations and habitat construction projects.

(The Irrawaddy dolphin is pictured in the bottom, right-hand corner) KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild

Found in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia, the snow leopard (Panthera uncia syn. uncia uncia) has evolved to live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.

It is estimated that there are between 2,710 and 3,386 snow leopards in the wild, with their numbers declining due to habitat loss, poaching, human conflict and the impact of climate change.

Snow leopards have long, thick, patterned fur, and their base colour varies, helping them adapt to their environment and thrive in the cold weather. They are important keystone predators and the health of the ecosystem depends greatly on their survival.

The snow leopard’s powerful build allows it to easily scale great steep slopes, and its strong hind legs allow it to leap six times the length of its body. Snow leopards are carnivores and actively hunt their prey. Like many cats, they are also opportunistic feeders, eating whatever meat they can find, including carrion and domestic livestock.

(The snow leopard is pictured on the right, third from the top). KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Near Threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest species of cat in the Americas and its range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico across much of Central and South Americas but is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.

This (mostly) solitary creature plays a very important role as an apex and keystone predator, stabilising ecosystems and regulating prey populations. The jaguar is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. Its preferred habitat is dense rainforest, however, it will range across a variety of forested and open terrain.

The jaguar has been almost completely eliminated from the United States and is considered a protected species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act.

While international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited, there is still demand for jaguar paws, teeth and other products, especially in local markets where canines are still considered interesting jewellery. The cat is still frequently killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America. On top of this, Jaguars are starting to be considered a replacement for tiger bone for traditional medicine purposes by the increasing Asian community in Latin America. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Least Concern (LC) – Lowest risk; does not qualify for a higher risk category.

The jaguarundi, or eyra cat (Puma yagouaroundi) is a small, slender, wild cat native to Central and South America. The jaguarundi is unique in its appearance; more closely resembling a weasel than other cats of it genus (such as the lynx, caracal and puma).

It has a slender, elongated body, short legs, a small flattened head, long “otter-like” tail, and a sleek, unmarked coat, which occurs in three main colour variations: black, brownish-grey, or red.

The jaguarundi is distributed throughout Northern Mexico, Central and South America, Texas and possibly Florida and are known to be solitary animals, sometimes living in pairs. They are comfortable in trees but prefer to hunt on the ground, generally eating a variety of small animals, including rodents, reptiles and ground-feeding birds.

Though they are generally not exploited for trade, they are still caught by traps that were intended for commercially valuable species. The species is listed on the IUCN as ‘Least Concern’, however, industrial agriculture poses a serious threat to the jaguarundi as their habitat is being steadily diminished, particularly for cattle farming. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Data Deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction

The pygmy ( pumilus) is a short, wide-eyed, carnivorous, nocturnal that lives on the Indonesian island of . Up to four inches high and weighing less than 60 grams, pygmy live in stable bonded pairs and communicate at high frequencies.

The pygmy tarsier was believed to be extinct until researchers accidentally killed one whilst trapping rats in 2000. The first pygmy tarsiers that have been seen alive since the 1920s were found by a research team in 2008. Very little is know about this species, and therefore, the IUCN is unable to classify its risk of extinction and put it on the IUCN Red List.

(The pygmy tarsier is pictured in the top, right-hand corner). KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

Australian Curriculum Mapping

GRADE 5 SCIENCE (ACSSU043): Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment.

YEAR 7 SCIENCE (ACSSU112): Interactions between organisms, including the effects of human activities can be represented by food chains and food webs.

YEAR 7 SCIENCE (ACSHE121): People use science understanding and skills in their occupations and these have influenced the development of practices in areas of human activity.

YEAR 8 ENGLISH (ACELY1702) - Navigate and read texts for specific purposes applying appropriate text processing strategies, for example predicting and confirming, monitoring meaning, skimming and scanning.

YEAR 9 SCIENCE (ACSSU176): Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment; matter and energy flow through these systems.

SUSTAINABILITY (01.8): Designing action for sustainability requires an evaluation of past practices, the assessment of scientific and technological developments, and balanced judgements based on projected future economic, social and environmental impacts. KIDS CORNER SPECIES & IUCN

The IUCN requires important scientific research from around the world to constantly keep providing newer and better information on a species’ conservation status.

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