Extinction of Species .ORG

Extinct in the Wild

Extinct in the Wild (EW) is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.

A species' conservation status can be one of:

At risk of extinction:

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Threatened

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

At lower risk:

Conservation Dependent

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Examples of species and subspecies that are extinct in the wild include:

Alagoas Curassow (extinct in the wild since 1988)
Barbary Lion (extinct in the wild since 1922)
Black Soft-shell Turtle (extinct in the wild since 2002)
Guam Rail (extinct in the wild since 1980)
Hawaiian Crow (extinct in the wild since 2002)
Père David's Deer (extinct in the wild since 1865 and probably long before that)
Scimitar Oryx (extinct in the wild since 2000)
Seychelles giant tortoise (extinct in the wild since 1840)
Socorro Dove (extinct in the wild since 1972)
Wyoming Toad (extinct in the wild since 1991)
Escarpment Cycad (extinct in the wild since 2006)
The ʻAlalā has been extinct in the wild since 2002

The Pinta Island Tortoise (Geochelone nigra abingdoni) has only one living individual, Lonesome George.The turtle was believed to be entirely extinct until Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi spotted Lonesome George on the Galapagos island of Pinta on 1 December 1971. Since then, Lonesome George has been a powerful symbol for conservation efforts in general and for the Galapagos Islands in particular.

Not all species that are extinct in the wild are endangered or even rare. For example, Ameca splendens, though extinct in the wild, are very popular aquarium fish.

Reintroduction is the deliberate release of species into the wild, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species survives. This may be an option for certain species that are endangered or extinct in the wild. However, it may be difficult to reintroduce EW species into the wild, even if their natural habitats were restored, because survival techniques, which are often passed from parents to offspring during parenting, may be lost. While conservation efforts may preserve some of the genetics of a species, the species may never fully recover.