Instructions
Study the animal's habitat. If its habitat or natural living environment is being threatened, consumed, overrun or has otherwise become inhabitable, that species may qualify for addition to the endangered species list. Animals and plants often cannot thrive without their natural habitats and if they are destroyed or otherwise become inaccessible to those species, they are eligible for addition to the list and for protection under the law.
Determine how the animal or plant species is being used by human beings. If that species is being used and killed for any purpose, including education and science, to an extent to which the population of that species is vastly reduced, then the species is eligible for the endangered list. Recreational and even commercial uses of species may also result in addition to the list if the population of the species is reduced greatly while being used.
Find out if the species is being plagued by disease or if its predators are too numerous. Disease and overhunting of certain species may eventually result in extinction. Thus, animals and plants which are plagued or being preyed upon in too great a number should be added to the endangered species list.
How to Know When to Classify an Animal as Endangered
Today, there are almost 700 plant species and almost 500 animal species listed as endangered or threatened around the world. Threatened species are predicted to become extinct in the near future and endangered species are nearly extinct already. The United States Endangered Species Program and the United States Endangered Species Act have been designed and operated to protect, preserve and repopulate the species that are both threatened and endangered in the United States and around the world.