As a species ourselves, we need to maintain the environment around us in order to keep the world as we know it alive. Forests provide us with oxygen, while oceans and land give us food. If these eco systems are destroyed, they will be gone forever.

Animals and plants interact and depend on each other in many ways. Scientists are discovering new species all the time and produce possible cures for cancer and other diseases on the back of years and years of research. Mankind has not yet documented every plant in the world and yet our tropical forests are being culled further every day.

As part of its efforts to be more eco-friendly, Fota Wildlife Park has implemented the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ waste management strategy in recent years. The Park recycles more today than ever before in its history and alternative energy sources – including solar power – are being incorporated into everyday use.

IUCN List

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the organisation behind the IUCN Red List, which is recognised as the most comprehensive and objective approach to determining the extinction risk posed to various plant and animal species.

Founded in 1963, species and subspecies are listed under the following categories: Not Evaluated (NE), Data Deficient (DD), Least Concern (LC), Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), Critically Endangered (CR), Extinct in the Wild (EW) and Extinct (EX). The List aims to make it easier for the public and policy makers to understand the urgency of Conservation issues.