515 species on the brink of extinction

[TeaLovingDave]

There are no Spix's Macaws in the wild.

Indeed (though I think there were reintroductions imminent) - but the list doesn't actually specify it pertains to wild populations only so it is somewhat erratic to count species such as Kouprey and Emperor Rat which are almost certainly extinct in totality, but omit species which are "merely" extinct in the wild.

But if you like, I will instead complain about the omission of Hawaiian Crow, which does now occur in the wild again due to reintroductions but is still classified as EW.

 

[Tea_and_Biology]

Yeah, to be fair, the authors' objective wasn't to accurately and comprehensively list threatened species - they just needed some working dataset to perform analysis on. As per their methods section, they almost certainly just used the IUCN API to automatically harvest all entries on the database with 1-1,000 listed as population size and call it a day.

The IUCN lists the Spix Macaw's population at 0 (defined by number of wild mature individuals), so it wouldn't have been pulled. In contrast, almost all the likely extinct frogs etc. still have 0-50 as their given population. Any erroneous exclusions/inclusions are simply artefacts of the authors' methodology and how the IUCN defines population size, nothing more.

 

[Chlidonias]

But if you like, I will instead complain about the omission of Hawaiian Crow, which does now occur in the wild again due to reintroductions but is still classified as EW.

You just answered yourself. It is still listed as EW.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

You just answered yourself. It is still listed as EW.

But my point is that there ARE individuals in the wild so the reason you gave for Spix Macaw not counting does not apply.

(Yes, I know I'm being pedantic I'm just in a puckish mood tonight)

 

[RatioTile]

@Tea_and_Biology @Jungle Man Have you started working on the bird list yet? If not, I'll start it myself. I'd like to finish annotating the whole list ASAP so I can send it to my contacts at the WCS.

 

[Jungle Man]

@Tea_and_Biology @Jungle Man Have you started working on the bird list yet? If not, I'll start it myself. I'd like to finish annotating the whole list ASAP so I can send it to my contacts at the WCS.

I am very busy so you can start with the list.

 

[Tea_and_Biology]

@Tea_and_Biology @Jungle Man Have you started working on the bird list yet? If not, I'll start it myself. I'd like to finish annotating the whole list ASAP so I can send it to my contacts at the WCS.

Oh, I never was going to. Too many of 'em, and, well, I don't find birds as a taxon particularly interesting. Heck, the rest was just a bit of procrastination anyways... !

 

[RatioTile]

What resources do you use to determine if an animal is in captivity or not?

 

[Tea_and_Biology]

What resources do you use to determine if an animal is in captivity or not?

Scanning the IUCN database, or just browsing the species-specific webpages / reports, is usually fruitful, particularly if what one is looking up is threatened in any way. Otherwise straight up Google-Fu (and Scholar), to be honest. Following citations provided by the AnAge/PanTHERIA databases can point in the right direction too, if something is a bit niche.

For zoos in particular, ZooTierListe is apparently pretty good, albeit only limited to listed European collections.