National Geographic UK - 10.2019

(Barry) #1
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.
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