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A zookeeper holds a baby Chinese pangolin to be weighed at the Prague Zoo, Czech Republic
Image: Petr David Josek/AP/picture alliance Image: Petr David Josek/AP/picture alliance

Endangered species

The Earth is currently facing an extinction crisis because of the destruction of habitat, unlimited hunting and huge industrial agriculture. And here humans are to blame for driving numerous species to extinction.

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All Content on this topic

Symbolbild: Wasserknappheit in Deutschland

How climate change kills species

What happens when rising temperatures cause plants to flower too early and insects miss their flowering?
ClimateMay 26, 202305:37 min
Ecotourists look on as an Olive Ridley sea turtle makes its way down a beach near the small coastal village of Velas in western India

Saving India's endangered baby turtles

Velas village's ecotourism helps both the community and the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 22, 202302:30 min
DW Eco Africa (Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos englisch)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

On Eco Africa: Empowering women in the solar industry and saving endangered seals in Albania.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 11, 202326:06 min
Dodo

Bringing back the dodo

A company wants to revive the dodo, mammoth and other extinct species. But the scientific challenges are huge.
ScienceMay 5, 202306:30 min
Illustration of a T-Rex looking at a meteorite hitting earth

Dinosaurs lived on a scorching planet — why can't humans?

During the dinosaurs' era it was much warmer than today. So why is the current climate crisis an existential threat?
ClimateMay 5, 2023
Eco Africa-Sendung

Tribe in Kenya at the verge of extinction

Rising water levels in Lake Turkana are displacing the smallest tribe in Kenya as fish stocks dwindle.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 3, 202304:50 min
Turtle, beach, sand, ocean

Eco-tourism, turtles and tradition

Velas village: saving turtles and empowering communities with eco-tourism
Nature and EnvironmentMay 2, 202306:01 min
Karibik-Manati

What's killing Florida's manatees?

Worldwide, one in every three species could be endangered or extinct by 2100. Manatees are already threatened.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 4, 202305:25 min
external

The effort to save Thailand's wild crocodiles

Conservationists in Thailand are working to rebuild the wild population of the Siamese Crocodile.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 17, 202303:12 min
Screenshot Beitrag Turtles find friends in Benin

Turtles find friends in Benin

Off the coast of Benin, Bienvenue Djossou has converted his pub into a safe zone for sea turtle hatchlings.
SocietyMarch 13, 202302:42 min
Deutschland Heckenschnitt

Climate heroes hedge and bush

Hedges provide a habitat for many creatures and sequester large amounts of CO2. And that's not all!
ScienceFebruary 18, 202305:55 min
Five orca whales in green water

Orca moms may be feeding their sons into extinction

A specific species of male orca whales live in a state of perpetual adolescence, to everyone's potential detriment.
ScienceFebruary 10, 2023
Emperor penguin colony in Antarctica

Emperor penguins, reindeer among threatened species: WWF

Between 80% to 100% of all emperor penguin colonies face extinction by 2100 at present greenhouse gas emission levels.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 29, 2022
Scene from auditorium at COP15

UN conference reaches historic biodiversity deal

Negotiators have signed off on a deal to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 19, 2022
A light-colored wolf with snow on its head

What are keystone species and why do we need them?

From wolves to shrimps, keystone animal and plant species are vital facilitators of healthy and biodiverse ecosystems.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 13, 2022
A flying fox beside a durian

Biodiversity loss and its significant impact on our lives

No more honey, tequila or bird song — a comic on what's at stake at the UN Biodiversity conference in Montreal.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 13, 20229 images
A dugong or sea cow as it is otherwise known

Human activity 'decimating' marine life — IUCN

The IUCN, says there is a "perfect storm" of human activity "decimating marine species."
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 9, 2022
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rangers stand guard around illegal stockpiles of burning elephant tusks, ivory figurines and rhinoceros horns at the Nairobi National Park

Global trade rules against extinction: Do they work?

An international convention is supposed to stop one million animal and plant species from going extinct.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 25, 2022
external

Panama: CITES summit on endangered wildlife

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild is taking place for the 19th time.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 25, 202201:40 min
Eco Africa-Sendung

Kenyan tribe on the verge of extinction

Rising water levels in Lake Turkana are displacing the smallest tribe in Kenya as fish stocks dwindle.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 24, 202205:51 min
An orangutan and an orangutan baby sit in a tree

Can we save species from extinction?

Can animal parks, rescue stations, catch quotas and protected areas help us save some species from extinction?
BusinessOctober 20, 202204:09 min
Modell Neandertaler

The small cave life of a Neanderthal community

A new study by recent Nobel Prize winner Svante Pääbo uses one of the largest samples of Neanderthal DNA ever sequenced
ScienceOctober 19, 2022
Markhor, Pakistan's national animal

How Pakistan is trying to save its national animal

Excessive hunting and loss of habitat for decades have turned the markhor into an endangered species.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 18, 202203:04 min
Eco India

Protecting sea cucumber from poaching

Coastguards in southern India are fighting to protect endangered sea cucumber from poachers.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 8, 202204:37 min
A koala gripping the trunk of a tree

Australia unveils 'zero extinction' plan for wildlife

Environment officials have set out what is being called an "ambitious" plan aimed at protecting vulnerable species.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 4, 2022
a small koala eats a leaf

Amazing Planet: Koalas' biggest threat are humans

They survive on toxic leaves and are not actually bears. There's nothing else like them, yet koalas face extinction.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 2, 2022
Two cheetahs inside a quarantine section at a reserve near Bella Bella, South Africa before being relocated to India

Cheetahs make a comeback to India

The African cheetah has been introduced to India in an ambitious bid to have the world's fastest land animal roam again.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 20, 2022
South Africa, Bella Bella | Cheetah

India reintroduces cheetahs into the wild

Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated his birthday by releasing Namibian cheetahs into an Indian sanctuary.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 17, 2022
Hand holding Cuban crocodile

The race to save Cuba’s endangered crocodiles

Researchers are fighting to save the endangered Cuban crocodile from habitat loss, climate change and poaching.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 7, 20229 images
An ivory-billed woodpecker sitting on a branch

Extinction: 6 species we recently lost

Humans are wiping out species at an alarming rate. What animals have recently gone extinct?
ScienceAugust 22, 20226 images
Tasmanischer tiger

Is the Tasmanian tiger de-extinction project human vanity?

Dodos in the park, Tasmanian tigers in the hills? Experts weigh up the pros and cons of de-extinction.
ScienceAugust 19, 2022
DW's Eco Africa

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

On this Eco Africa: Human-elephant conflicts in Gabon and saving Senegal's Atlantic beaches from erosion.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 19, 202226:06 min
Harvey Tweats with snake

Teenage animal rescuers in the UK

Two teenagers in England want to save endangered reptiles and amphibians from extinction.
LifestyleAugust 19, 202204:11 min
A monarch butterfly sits on a flower

Monarch butterfly listed as endangered

The beloved orange-and-black insect is a step closer to extinction due to climate change and habitat destruction.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 21, 2022
Living Planet 210318 Podcast Picture Teaser

What will it take to save species from extinction?

As scientists warn that the world is hurtling toward mass biodiversity loss, we think about how to reverse that trend. We talk to Colombian ecologist Brigitte Baptiste, who's been part of a team tasked with creating international guidelines for governments on the value of nature. And we journey to South Africa to hear how the country is restoring ecosystems warped by invasive trees.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 14, 202230:00 min
A farmer carries a chainsaw at a coca plantation

Wild species can help feed the world

New report calls for greater biodiversity protection for wild species, which could provide food and income for billions.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 11, 2022
Global Ideas Infofilm über Biodiversität

Can we save species from extinction?

Can animal parks, rescue stations, catch quotas and protected areas help us save some species from extinction?
Nature and EnvironmentJune 21, 202204:17 min
Baby tasmanian devils in their mother's pouch, pictured on June 1, 2022 in Australia

Tasmanian devils, back in Australia, keep breeding

Tasmanian devils died out in mainland Australia some 3,000 years ago.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 10, 2022
DW Onlinebilder Projekt Zukunft | Meeresschildkröten

Kenya's dwindling sea turtles

In Kenya, a conservation organization wants to protect the endangered marine creatures.
ScienceJune 4, 202204:49 min
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

Tomorrow Today - The Science Magazine

Helpful robots and saving sea turtles. And how unconcious "white thinking" causes discrimination.
ScienceJune 4, 202226:01 min
Logo "Global 3000"

Global 3000 — The Globalization Program

Nuclear test victims in the US and their long struggle for compensation. Plus empty temples in Cambodia.
BusinessMay 14, 202226:01 min
A boat entrapped by the aquatic week at a jetty in Hartbeespoort Dam in South Africa’s North-West province

South Africa uses insects to fight invasive species

Can planthoppers help fight the spread of water hyacinth in South African waterways?
Nature and EnvironmentMay 11, 2022
Miss Waldron's red colobus monkey in Ivory Coast

Looking for Miss Waldron's red colobus monkeys

Miss Waldron's red colobus were once thought extinct. Now researchers think they have found some of the primates.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 14, 202205:24 min
A baby pangolin is being given water at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital

Protecting southern Africa's pangolins 

Meet the organizations trying to safeguard pangolins, the world's most trafficked mammal.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 4, 2022
Berlin Gazprom Deutschland

Germany resists, but Russian gas on way out

Germany has been tied to Russia through energy for decades. But the EU wants to end its dependency on Russian energy.
BusinessMarch 11, 2022
Banana plants in Uganda

Developing 'super' fruit to save Ugandan bananas

Uganda has the highest per capita consumption of bananas in the world. Tens of millions of people depend on the fruit as a source of food and income. But for decades, farmers have been struggling with unremitting pests and diseases. To save the beloved banana from dying out, scientists and farmers are trying to develop a super breed that can withstand these attackers.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 20, 202208:26 min
Aerial shot of dead sheep scattered across a dry landscape

What to expect from the world's sixth mass extinction

What can we expect as we descend into the first mass extinction in 65 million years?
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 11, 2022
Asteroid fliegt an Erde vorbei

When will an asteroid hit Earth?

Sofiane El-Khalil Adim from Algeria wants to know when could an asteroid hit Earth?
ScienceJanuary 8, 202202:18 min
African forest elephant

WWF warns of biggest extinction event 'since the dinosaurs'

More plants and animals than ever before are now on a global list of threatened species, the WWF Germany has warned.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 29, 2021
Planet A

We're saving the wrong bees

Honey bees are the bad boys of the bee world — we should be focusing on wild bees instead.
ClimateDecember 21, 202108:34 min