How to Help Protect Wildlife
Last updated: November 15, 2026
Many of the animals on WildFacts face real pressures, from fishing nets and boat strikes to habitat loss and pollution. Here is what conservation categories mean and a few things anyone can do.
What the IUCN categories mean
The International Union for Conservation of Nature keeps the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most widely used global list of extinction risk. From lowest to highest risk, the main categories are:
- Least Concern: widespread and not at notable risk right now.
- Near Threatened: close to qualifying as threatened.
- Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered: the three "threatened" categories, from high to extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- Data Deficient: not enough information to judge the risk.
Countries also have their own lists; in the United States, many marine species are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Status of animals on WildFacts
Category names as listed by our sources; follow the link on each animal page to check the current Red List assessment.
- Critically Endangered: Axolotl
- Endangered: Blue whale, Green sea turtle, Sea otter
- Vulnerable: Great white shark, West Indian manatee
- Least Concern: Common bottlenose dolphin, Humpback whale
- Data Deficient: Orca (killer whale)
What you can do
- Keep your distance. Watch marine animals from a respectful distance and never feed or touch them. NOAA publishes viewing guidelines for whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles.
- Choose responsible tours. Pick operators that follow local wildlife-viewing rules.
- Cut plastic and fishing litter. Lost line and plastic bags can tangle or be swallowed by turtles and seabirds.
- Report animals in trouble. In the U.S., report a stranded or entangled marine animal to the NOAA stranding network for your region instead of trying to help it yourself.
- Never release pets into the wild. Pet axolotls, fish and turtles should never be let go in local waters.