National Geographic USA - 10.2019

Range of

Amsterdam

albatross

ROUND ISLAND DAY GECKO

AMSTERDAM ALBATROSS PINK PIGEON

NORTHERN BALD IBIS

AFRICA

ASIA

MAURITIUS

INDIAN

OCEAN

MAURITIUS

Round

Island

AFRICA

ANTARCTICA

INDIAN

OCEAN

Range of

Amsterdam

albatross

Amsterdam I.

AFRICA

MOROCCO

Number of

breeding pairs

1981 2019

8

46 Population

1973 2018

25

473

Number of

breeding pairs

1981

75

2018

147

Encounters

per hour

0.4

0.1

2006 2018

Plants

Invertebrates

Vertebrates

2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2019

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

Threatened species

KATIE ARMSTRONG, NGM MAPS. SOURCES: IUCN; BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL; CHRIS BOWDEN, ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS; JUSTIN COOKE, IUCN-SSC

CETACEAN SPECIALIST GROUP; NIK COLE, DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST; HENRI WEIMERSKIRCH, FRENCH NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

IN THE RED ZONE

The IUCN has assessed more than

105,000 species—with a goal of 160,000

by 2020—and found more than 28,000

to be threatened by extinction. Scientists

don’t know how many species disap-

peared before they could be counted.

Rabbits and goats

introduced in the 19th

century devastated the

gecko’s habitat, but

restoration efforts have

made the island more

hospitable to the lizard.

Egyptian mythology’s

iridescent bird, with

only a few fully wild col-

onies left (in Morocco),

is being brought back

into its former range,

including the Alps.

The number of al ba-

trosses nesting on a

moss-covered island

plateau in the Indian

Ocean has risen; inva-

sive mice and disease

continue to be a threat.

Programs to control

predators and encour-

age breeding on

Mauritius have helped

the population climb

from fewer than 10 birds

in the wild to hundreds.