Image: Vanâ
Rossem/Corbis
About This Quiz
Humans now have the technology and methods to keep the Earth's diversity intact. Prove your endangered species knowledge with this HowStuffWorks quiz.
When did the Endangered Species Act go into affect?
1973
The ESA is the most significant piece of endangered species legislation, having prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species it protects since its inception in 1973.
1965
1986
Advertisement
How many U.S. and foreign species are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act?
more than 2,000
Today, the Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,400 U.S. species and 600 foreign species.
more than 2,300
more than 1,500
Advertisement
Since the Endangered Species Act went into affect, how many on the list have gone extinct?
3
7
9
Unfortunately, nine species from the list have gone extinct. Just 14 have recovered enough to be removed.
Advertisement
Which of these mammals were among the first to be protected under the 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act?
Whooping Crane
Timber Wolf
Technically all of these were among the first species to be protected under the 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act, but only the Timber Wolf is a mammal. The Whooping Crane is categorized as a bird and the American Alligator as a reptile or amphibian.
American Alligator
Advertisement
What is the world's most endangered sea turtle?
Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle
The Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle is critically endangered, with an estimated population of about 1,000 females in the world.
Leatherbacks
Loggerheads
Advertisement
True or False? The polar bear was the first animal added to the Endangered Species list due to climate change.
TRUE
True. In 2008, the polar bear was listed as threatened due to the continuing loss of Artic sea ice.
FALSE
Advertisement
What was the last feline to go extinct?
Iberian lynx
Flat-headed cat
Saber-toothed cat
Thankfully, no cat has gone extinct since the saber-toothed cat nearly 11,000 years ago, but the Iberian lynx is coming close. It's the most endangered cat in the world, with numbers in the low hundreds.
Advertisement
Population of the western lowland gorilla is currently unknown. The species faces extinction due to what?
illegal poaching
disease
both
Diseases like the Ebola virus and illegal poachers are decimating what's left of this incredible species.
Advertisement
What percentage of habitat have tigers lost by deforestation, road building and other human activities?
25 percent
50 percent
more than 90 percent
It's estimated that tigers in the 13 tiger range countries have lost 93 percent of their historical range.
Advertisement
Due to the success of recovery efforts under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, what animal was taken off the Endangered Species list in the United States in 2013?
gray wolf
The gray wolf was officially removed from the list in 2013 after its population rebounded by as much as 300 percent.
bald eagle
black ferret
Advertisement
What drastic measures have conservationists taken to help protect rhinos from illegal poaching?
putting them all in zoos
removing them from the wild
cutting off their horns
Conservationists have taken to sawing off the rhinos horns, which are prized by illegal poachers.
Advertisement
What once-endangered animal is the national symbol of the United States?
bald eagle
The bald eagle was on the Endangered Species list for more than 30 years, but was removed in 2007 after a successful recovery.
grizzly bear
gray wolf
Advertisement
What are the greatest threats facing endangered species?
habitat destruction
illegal poaching
Both
Habitat destruction, illegal poaching and introduction of new species are all major threats to endangered species.
Advertisement
What can you do to protect endangered species from extinction?
reduce, reuse and recycle
protect native habitats
both
Both are ways you can help protect endangered species from extinction.
Advertisement
In 1900, there were about 100,000 cheetahs worldwide. How many are estimated to be alive currently?
10,000 to 15,000
Estimates place the number of cheetahs at between 10,000 and 15,000, with about 1/10 of those living in captivity.
50,000
35,000
Advertisement
True or False? The Florida Manatee was one of the first listed endangered species.
TRUE
The Florida Manatee was one of the first mammals listed under the 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act.
FALSE
Advertisement
The first endangered species list had more what than any other kind of animal?
birds
The 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act included nearly twice as many birds than mammals.
fish
reptiles
Advertisement
Which of the five rhinoceros species is the most endangered?
greater one-horned
Sumatran
The Javan
The Javan rhinoceros is the most endangered of the world’s five rhinoceros species, with an estimated 40 to 60 animals remaining on the western tip of the Island of Java in Indonesia.
Advertisement
Although the right whale is now protected, what is continuing to harm its small population?
commercial fishing gear
Whales are drowning after becoming wrapped in commercial fishing gear. Although, with global climate change, the availability of food is also proving to be another serious threat to their recovery.
illegal poaching
lack of food
Advertisement
What critically endangered animal is so rare and seldom seen, it's often referred to as the Asian unicorn?
the saola
The saola is related to cattle and resembles an antelope with brown and white patches on its head and face and spindly horns. It was first discovered in 1992 and has been seen just a few times since.
the Sonoran pronghorn
the pangolin
Advertisement
This huge woodpecker was considered extinct until 2004.
Pileated woodpecker
Red-cockaded woodpecker
Ivory-billed woodpecker
A few sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas and Florida have trickled in, but there's still no solid evidence of the ivory-bill’s continued existence. If a population does exist, it is likely to be tiny and extremely vulnerable.
Advertisement
What president signed the Endangered Species Act into law?
President Richard Nixon
President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1973.
President Gerald Ford
President Jimmy Carter
Advertisement
What law did the Endangered Species Act of 1973 replace?
Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 replaced the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969.
The Conservation Act of 1956
The Endangered and Conservation Law
Advertisement
What is CITES?
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is one of the largest environmental agreements regulating the international trade in wildlife.
the Coalition of International Trackers of Endangered Species
the Code of Illegal Trade for Endangered Species
Advertisement
True or False? CITES regulates more than 5,600 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants, and has 181 member states as of 2015, including the United States.
TRUE
True. CITES has a voluntary agreement and it currently includes 181 member states.
FALSE
Advertisement
True or False? The United States is one of the largest consumers of both legal and illegal wildlife in the world.
TRUE
True. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth $7 billion to $23 billion, making it the third-largest illegal trade by dollar value, after drugs and guns.
FALSE
Advertisement
What is threatening the tiger's survival in the wild?
trade in parts
poaching
both
Both poaching and trade in tiger parts and products is a major threat to wild tiger survival.
Advertisement
What animal did the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service propose to delist from the Endangered Species Act in February 2016?
the San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Island fox
The ESA proposed delisting three subspecies of island fox native to California’s Channel Islands: the San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Island fox. The removal would be the fastest recovery for any mammal on the Endangered Species List in the United States.
the California Condor
Dusky Seaside Sparrow
Advertisement
Of the dozens of species of rhino that once roamed the earth, how many still exist?
Six
Three
Five
Just five species of rhino still exist on earth — the white rhino, the black rhino, the great-horned rhino, the Sumatran rhino and the Javan, all of which are endangered.
Advertisement
In 1930, between 5 and 10 million African elephants existed. What percent remained when they were added to the Endangered Species list in 1989?
10 percent
1 percent
Just 1 percent of African elephants — approximately 600,000 — survived when they were added to the international list of the most endangered species in 1989.
50 percent
Advertisement
You Got:
/30
Vanâ
Rossem/Corbis