Endangered animals of the Great Barrier Reef

Any animal species that is said to be endangered has its very survival threatened, either by man-made or natural threats to its environment.

There can be various levels of endangerment, the most serious being the closest to extinction, but any endangerment level for any species is indeed a very serious situation and one that needs to be monitored very closely by the relevant authorities and organisations.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to a few different endangered species that are heavily protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority working alongside other relevant organisations, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) or the World Wildlife Fund (http://www.wwf.org.au/).

For example, six of the world's seven endangered species of sea turtle frequent the waters of the Reef along with the planet's largest sea mammal, the Blue Whale - not only the largest but also one of the least known about whales!

The dugong is another mammal on the list, or perhaps better known as a sea cow (so named because of their feeding habits of grazing the beds of sea grass that are found in certain areas of the Reef).

Dugongs are particularly vulnerable to threats and changes to their environment, because they have a very slow breeding rate - maybe only one calf is born to an adult female dugong every 3 to 7 years, and this is after the 10 to 15 or so years that it takes for a female dugong to reach the reproductive age.

An adult dugong can be seen grazing a sea grass bed in the picture below:

What are the threats?

Throughout time there have always been natural threats to an animal's environment, such as fluctuations in sea temperature, salinity levels, abundance of predators etc etc, but sadly these natural threats (while still present) have become over-shadowed by the numerous man-made threats and dangers that are all too common in the modern world.

All sea going mammals are particularly vulnerable to harm because of their need to surface regularly in order to breath.
Boat strikes are a common hazard when an animal surfaces, but of course there are still dangers beneath the waves, such as fishing nets and pollution.

Fortunately for all animals of the Great Barrier Reef, whether endangered or not, the Reef is still a safe place to live thanks to the work of official organisations such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

And perhaps surprisingly, tourism isn't such a serious threat as you may think - it's very much in the tour operators interests to look after all life on the Reef and to work closely with all organisations involved to ensure the safe future for all marine life up and down the Great Barrier Reef.

For more information about the Animals of the Great Barrier Reef take a look at our pages on the Animals of the Reef; the Dangerous Great Barrier Reef Animals; and the Hammerhead Shark.