Do You Know Michigan's Most Endangered Animals?

We all love animals. They're cute (most of the time), are important to our environment, and so many are unique. However, for many reasons, some animal populations begin to dwindle, and when this happens, these animals can find themselves on an endangered species list. Michigan has its own list of endangered species, and some of the species on it may surprise you.

This arctic fox is not on Michigan's endangered species list. It is just cute. / Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash

What does it mean to be endangered?

There are many indicators researchers look for when considering if an animal can be endangered. Population changes are the leading reason: an animal is considered endangered "when its population has declined between 50 and 70 percent" over 10 years or three generations. But other factors like geographic range or a low number of mature individuals (individuals able to breed) can also lead to a species being considered endangered.

Michigan's Endangered Species List

Michigan's Endangered Species List covers animals and plants that are considered threatened/endangered including mollusks (38), insects (34), fish (31), amphibians (5), reptiles (8), birds(26), mammals (9), and plants (274). As you can see, there are a lot of endangered species, especially plants, too many to cover in this article. However, a few animals you may know but not realize are endangered make it on the list.

Piping plover, Jim Hudgins/USFWS, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/banner/piping-plover-0

Michigan Endangered Species List 2024

The Endangered Species List is much bigger than the couple featured below, but these are some you may have heard of but didn't realize were endangered.

Gallery Credit: Tommy McNeill

LOOK: Washington State's 33 Endangered Species

There are endangered species everywhere in the world, but it can be hard to remember that some of them are close to home. Here are Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)'s list of endangered species in the state, as last revised in February 2022.