How close is a species
to extinction?
The IUCN Red List assesses extinction risk. Its categories help us read that risk consistently across species.
Read IUCN’s Red List guideRead the category.
From lower to higher assessed risk among these five categories:
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered are the three threatened categories. Least Concern does not mean a species faces no threats.
What about missing information?
Data Deficient (DD) means available information is insufficient to assess extinction risk. Not Evaluated (NE) means the species has not yet been assessed against the criteria. Neither means safe.
What do Extinct and Extinct in the Wild mean?
Extinct in the Wild (EW) means survival only in captivity, cultivation or naturalised populations outside the former range. Extinct (EX) means there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
What should I check beside a category?
Check the assessment date, the species definition and the geographic scope. A global category may conceal a very different local situation.
Risk is not recovery.
A lower extinction risk does not automatically mean a species has recovered its former distribution or ecological role. IUCN’s Green Status addresses recovery and conservation impact.
Understand IUCN Green Status