Dr. Chloe Wilde is our wildlife biologist. She studied ecology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Her favorite topic of study is conservation. Dr. Wilde is passionate about learning about and teaching others about how they can help wild cat populations, including reducing their use of products with palm oil in them. Though Carolina Tiger Rescue does not have any, Dr. Wilde’s favorite animal to study is the clouded leopard.
Dr. Wilde’s Blog 7/16/20
You have most likely heard about species being “endangered” or “vulnerable,” you may have even heard of species that are of “least concern,” but what do these categories mean and how do we know which one to use? Let’s take a look!
To be an extinct species means that no more of that species exists in the world. Through conservation, we can prevent this! We can bring a species back from near extinction, but first we must know how they are doing and what threats they face. This was the idea behind the IUCN Red List. Species are studied by scientists and put into a category on the IUCN Red List based on how close they are to extinction.
How well a species is doing depends on several factors, such as how many individuals are left in the wild, how quickly the population is shrinking, and how much habitat is left. Thanks to the IUCN Red List, the public does not have to track down all of this information themselves! We can simply go to the IUCN Red List website, search for a species, and immediately see what scientists consider to be the species’ status, their greatest threats, and ways to help them.
Check out the IUCN Red List website! Here’s a key to help you along that explains what each category means. Search for your favorite species and find their status. It can be an animal or a plant species!
