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endangered vs. threatened species
[ en-deyn-jerd ]
adjective
- threatened with a danger: endangered lives of trapped coal miners.
- generally perceived as threatened with extinction: In 1967, the U.S. government declared the bald eagle endangered, but the national bird’s population recovery since then has been remarkable.
- (of a threatened plant or animal species) having a very high risk of extinction, second only to the status of critically endangered, as categorized by the IUCN Red List: There are more than 3,600 endangered plant species throughout the world.Abbreviation: EN
[ thret-nd spee-sheez, spee-seez ]
noun
- a plant or animal species generally perceived as likely, in the near future, to become endangered within all or much of its range: The drainage of this wetland promises to leave us with a number of threatened species.
- a plant or animal species that has been categorized by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered: In evaluating the conservation status of this threatened species, we must follow closely the population growth rate.