A recent study showed that Alabama has the third most animal species listed as being on the brink of extinction compared to other states.
Using data from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Environmental Conservation Online System, the Special Reports Team at Veterinarians.org has compiled a list of the top 10 states in the nation with the most endangered animals.
Alabama ranks number three for the most endangered animal species. Alabama has 64 species currently listed as endangered. The endangered animals in Alabama include the West Indian Manatee and the Northern Long-Eared Bat.
California leads the entire nation with 74 endangered animal species. Tennessee was second with 66 endangered species. Texas was next on the list at fourth with 51 species, followed by Virginia with 41 at fifth, Hawaii was sixth with 40, and Florida was in seventh place with 35 species. Kentucky was eighth with 31 species. The states of Mississippi, Arizona, and Georgia are tied for ninth, each with 26 endangered species.
In 1973, the U.S. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect vanishing native flora and fauna. The Department of Interior maintains the list and is primarily regulated by the USFWS.
Scientists estimate that almost 100 species (plants and animals) have become extinct in Alabama since colonial times. Many of the Alabama animals on the list are freshwater mussels.
Animals are considered endangered by the IUCN when their population has declined between 50 and 70 percent. This is not from its historic populations but is measured over the past ten years or three generations of the species.
The state has seen some species go extinct. Notably, the last eastern cougar in the world was killed in St. Clair County in 1947. The eastern cougar was officially declared extinct in 2018 after a seven-year review by the USFWS. Once common, the last passenger pigeon in Alabama was killed in Hale County in 1887. The last passenger pigeon in the world died in a zoo in 1914.
Alabama has also been the site of some tremendous success stories. The bald eagle was endangered, as was the American alligator. Now both are increasingly common in the state. The whitetail deer was on the verge of being eradicated in the state a hundred years ago. The state made heroic efforts on the part of two generations of Department of Conservation workers to trap deer in that herd remnant in Marengo County and then restock them across the state. Now deer are found in all 67 counties.
Habitat loss, disease, predation, and other natural or man-made factors also play a role.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
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