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Endangered animals by state

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Endangered species statistics
Endangered species by state • Endangered animals by state • Endangered plants by state • Delisted species
Top 20 federally funded species • Land acquisition funding for endangered species • Federal endangered species grants by state

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All states have a list of endangered and threatened animal species that are known or believed to inhabit the state. The list is created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Endangered Species Act and listing animal and plant species at the federal level. An endangered species is "in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range." A threatened species is "likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future."[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • As of July 2016, there were 1,353 federally protected animal species in the 50 states.
  • California had the most animal species—122 animal species.
  • Vermont had the fewest animal species—three species.

    • Background

    The Fish and Wildlife Service uses five criteria to label a species as endangered or threatened:[1]

    • Damage to, or destruction of, a species' habitat;
    • Over-utilization of the species for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
    • Disease or predation;
    • Inadequacy of existing protection; and/or
    • Other natural or man-made factors that affect the species' continued existence.

    The listed species below have met at least one of the above criteria.

    Protected animal species by state

    The table below shows all endangered and threatened animal species in each state as of July 2016. The data below is based on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) estimate of where federally protected species are believed to or known to inhabit based on the best available information.

    As of July 2016, there were 1,353 endangered and threatened animal species listed in the 50 states (this did not include species in U.S. territories and included species listed in more than one state). California contained the most animal species (122) while Vermont contained the fewest (3).[2]

    Click the "Show" button to see all listed animal species by state.

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "ESA Basics," accessed September 26, 2014
    2. ↑ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Species listed in each state based on published historic range and population data," accessed July 6, 2016
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