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.