Extinct in the wild

In addition to Extinct species, this website also records species that are Extinct in the Wild (EW). This includes species that are now only found in captivity, cultivation or as naturalized population. Extinct in the Wild species are in many respects Extinct, as they no longer play a functional role in their ecosystems. Also, because successful re-introductions are rare, it cannot be assumed that most of these species will be restored to the wild.

The number of EW species (animals and plants) at the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has increased from 50 in 2000, 60 in 2004 to 65 in 2006 and 2007 (with subspecies included: 78). The growth in the number of EW species is easier to document because these species are usually well monitored and  conservationists are usually involved in keeping the species alive in captivity or cultivation. However, proving that a species is EW can take years, as it requires confirmation that the last wild individual has died. 

Three species appear to have genuinely moved from Critically Endangered to Extinct in the Wild since 2000, all of them from the Hawaiian Islands. These include two plants, the ‘Oha Wai Clermontia peleana and Haha Cyanea pinnatifida, and one bird, the Hawaiian Crow Corvus hawaiiensis. The Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), is known from captive populations, the last known individual in the wild disappeared at the end of 2000, and the species may well have gone extinct, primarily through trapping for trade and from habitat loss. However, it cannot yet be presumed to be Extinct in the Wild until all areas of potential habitat have been thoroughly surveyed. Any remaining population is likely to be tiny, and for these reasons it is treated as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild).

The Northern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) is listed as Critically Endangered on the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but surveys in 2008 have failed to find any sign of their survival in the wild. It is feared that the Northern White Rhinoceros has become extinct in the wild. Only 8 survive in captivity, 2 males and 4 females in Dvùr Králové Zoo in Dvùr Králové nad Labem in the Czech Republic, and 1 female and 1 male in the San Diego Wild Animal Park in San Diego, California, U.S.A.

The 45 animals at the subjoined list are mostly from the database of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, although some on the IUCN Red List have successfully been reintroduced into the wild. For more information about reintroduced animals at this page, you can click here.

Mammals (2)
Scientific Name	Common Name	TEW Status	IUCN Status
Elaphurus davidianus	Père David's Deer	EW	EW
The Père David's Deer is endemic to China. The French missionary Père Armand David “discovered” the last surviving Père David's Deer in the Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden in 1864. In 1895, the wall of the Nanyuan Hunting Garden was destroyed by a heavy flood of the Yongding River, and most of the Père David’s deer escaped and were hunted. Only 20-30 animals survived in the garden. Then in 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the garden was occupied by troops and the remaining deer were shot and eaten. It had largely disappeared in the wild by the late 19th century, and the last wild animal was shot near the Yellow Sea in 1939. Luckily, before the demise of the royal herd of Père David’s deer in the Nanyuan Royal Hunting Garden in 1900, the deer had been introduced into private deer collections in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. During the first decade of the 20th century, the 11th Duke of Bedford in the United Kingdom gathered the last 18 Père David’s deer in the world to form a breeding herd at the Woburn Abbey, England. Only 11 of these deer were capable of reproducing. Nevertheless, the heavily inbred Père David’s deer safely passed though the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding and adopted the vast open parkland of an English country estate. The captive population started to increase (though with a setback during the First World War due to food shortage), and since the Second World War, the animals started to be spread through captive facilities worldwide, with the first captive animals being sent back to Beijing Zoo in 1956. More recently deer have been sent to China into managed, fenced situation in Beijing, Dafeng, Tianezhou and Yuanyang. The Père David's Deer is listed as Extinct in the Wild by the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as all populations are still under captive management. The captive population in China has increased in recent years, and the possibility remains that free-ranging populations can be established some time in the near future. (Jiang & Harris, 2008)  Photo: a male Père David's Deer at the Greater Vancouver Zoo (September 2007). This image has been released in the public domain by the copyright holder.
Oryx dammah	Sahara Oryx	EW	EW
The Sahara Oryx or Scimitar-horned Oryx was once one of the most common large mammals of northern Africa. Overhunting for the animal's meat, hide and magnificent horns, combined with habitat loss and caused major declines in the species. An estimated 500 Oryx survived at least until 1985 in Chad and Niger, but by 1988 only a few dozen individuals survived in the wild and since then there have been no confirmed reports of any wild oryx surviving in the wild. Currently listed as Extinct in the Wild by the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species is now part of a major captive breeding and reintroduction programme. Sporadic reports of animals sighted in Niger and Chad have never been substantiated, despite extensive surveys dedicated to detection of Sahelo-Saharan antelopes carried out in Chad and Niger in 2001-2004. (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 2008) Photo: a herd of the Sahara Oryx. Copyright © Antonio di Croce. This photo has been taken from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species' Photo Gallery. This photograph may be freely used for any non-commercial purpose, but please credit the respective photographer. For commercial use, please contact the photographers directly.

Birds (4)
Scientific Name	Common Name	TEW Status	IUCN Status
Corvus hawaiiensis	Hawaiian Crow	EW	EW
This bird moved from Critically Endangered to Extinct in the Wild at the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In 1992, there were only 11 or 12 birds, which had declined to three in October 1999. The last two known wild individuals of this species disappeared from Hawaii in 2002. Habitat alteration, collecting and shooting, introduced predators (e.g. rats, the Indian mongoose) and predation from the native Hawaiian Hawk, and avian malaria and pox carried by introduced mosquitoes have contributed to the crow's decline. Some individuals remain in captive breeding facilities and a reintroduction plan is being developed. (BirdLife International 2008a) Photo: a Hawaiian Crow. Copyright © Jack Jeffrey Photography. This photo has been taken from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species' Photo Gallery. This photograph may be freely used for any non-commercial purpose, but please credit the respective photographer. For commercial use, please contact the photographers directly.
Gallirallus owstoni	Guam Rail	EW	EW
This rail species is endemic to Guam (to USA), where it was widely distributed until 1968 when, along with most other indigenous species, it started to decline (Jaffe, 1994). In 1981, the population was estimated at about 2.000, but two years later in 1983 it was reckoned to number fewer than 100 and, by 1987, it was extirpated from the wild (Witteman et al. 1990). It survives in captive-breeding facilities in Guam and in 14 zoos in the USA (about 180 birds in total) and there is a small introduced population on Rota, Northern Mariana Islands (to USA). (BirdLife International, 2008b) Photo: a Guam Rail. This image is the work of an U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken or made during the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. For more information, see the Fish and Wildlife Service copyright policy.
Mitu mitu	Alagoas Curassow	EW	EW
The last (unconfirmed) sighting of this Brazilian species was in the late 1980s and it is now Extinct in the Wild. There are two captive populations and, although reintroduction appears difficult, an apparently suitable forest remnant has been identified.
Zenaida graysoni	Socorro Dove	EW	EW
The Socorro Dove has been extirpated from Socorro in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. This bird was formerly common and observations in 1957 and 1958 gave no indication that it was declining. The last sighting in the wild was in 1972, and all suitable habitat on the island has been surveyed subsequently without recording the dove. Fortunately, aviculture has unwittingly prevented the extinction of the species, since captive populations are held in USA and Germany. These were thought to total several hundred birds, but it now appears that many are hybrids between Mourning (Zenaida macroura) and Socorro Doves. (BirdLife International 2008d) Photo: a Socorro Dove in Burgers Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands. Photographed by 'Magalhães' at 15 May 2007. This image has been released under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Licence. A full resolution version of this image can be found at Wikimedia Commons.

Reptiles (3)
Scientific Name	Common Name	TEW Status	IUCN Status
Aspideretes nigricans	Black Soft-Shell Turtle	EW	EW
Geochelone nigra abingdoni	Abingdon Island Tortoise	EW	EW
Lonesome George is the last known individual of the Abingdon or Pinta Island Tortoise, one of eleven subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to the Galápagos Islands. He has been labelled the rarest creature in the world, and is a potent symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos and internationally. Relocated for his safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies, Geochelone nigra becki from Wolf Island, in the hope that his genotype would be retained in the resulting progeny. Attempts at mating Lonesome George with females from other subspecies have been unsuccessful for several decades. Photo: Lonesome George photographed by 'Putneymark' at 16 August 2007.  This image has been released under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 Licence. A full resolution version of this image can be found at Wikimedia Commons.
Geochelone nigra duncanensis	Duncan Island Tortoise	EW	EW

Reintroduced Animals
Scientific Name	Common Name	TEW Status	IUCN Status
Bison bonasus	European Bison (Wisent)	Not Listed	VU
Canis lupus baileyi	Mexican Grey Wolf	Not Listed	Not Listed
There are only about 200 Mexican wolves in the world. Most are part of a captive breeding program in 40 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries located in the United States and Mexico to prevent extinction of the subspecies. In March 1998, the first 11 Mexican wolves from captive stock were reintroduced into the wild in the Apache National Forest in southeastern Arizona under a program to re-establish the subspecies to a portion of its historic range. Two additional wolves were released later that year. Twenty-one wolves have been released in 1999. Of the 34 wolves released: five have been shot; one disappeared; a vehicle hit one; five were returned to captivity; and at least 22 are free-ranging. The status of released Mexican wolves can change unexpectedly. However, they are classified as "extinct in the wild" by the IUCN Red List, as they have not been reassessed since 1996. For more information: The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Photo: Captive Mexican wolf at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, photographed by Jim Clark, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2001.
Canis rufus	Red Wolf	Not Listed	CR
Equus ferus przewalskii	Mongolian Wild Horse	Not Listed	CR
The native population declined in the 20th century due to a combination of factors, with the wild population in Mongolia dying out in the 1960s. The last herd was sighted in 1967 and the last individual horse in 1969. Expeditions after this failed to locate any horses, and the species was designated "extinct in the wild" for over 30 years. After 1945 only two captive populations in zoos remained: in Munich and in Prague Zoo. The most valuable group in Askania Nova was shot down by German soldiers during occupation and the group in the USA had died. A herd of Mongolian Wild Horses at Khustain Nuruu National Park, Mongolia. In 1977, the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Mongolian Wild Horse was founded by Jan and Inge Bouman, which started a program of exchange between captive populations in zoos throughout the world to reduce inbreeding, and later starting a breeding program of its own. In 1992, sixteen horses were released into the wild in Mongolia, followed by additional animals later on. These reintroduced horses successfully reproduced, and the status of the animal was changed from "extinct in the wild" to "endangered" in 2005. However, they are classified as "extinct in the wild" by the IUCN Red List, as they have not been reassessed since 1996. Source: Przewalski's Horse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gymnogyps californianus	California Condor	Not Listed	CR
Mustela nigripes	Black-footed Ferret	Not Listed	EN
The Black-footed Ferret is currently listed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN Red List, pending reassessment. This ferret is one of North America's rarest mammals and it depends on an endangered ecosystem for survival. The population declined throughout the 1900s and in 1985, the last known free-ranging population collapsed due to an outbreak of canine distemper and the species was considered Extinct in the Wild. In the fall of 1991, 49 captive animals were reintroduced into the wild in Wyoming. The reintroduced animals were designated an “experimental” population. Additional ferrets have been introduced each year since 1991. Unconfirmed sightings from other areas continue to be reported. In Montana, parts of Phillips County are targeted for ferret reintroduction. However, they are classified as "extinct in the wild" by the IUCN Red List, as they have not been reassessed since 1996. Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/news/factsheets/ferret.html). Photo © Dean Biggins.