Endangered species uk

[fenchel]

In order to be classed as endangered,to what levels must numbers of a species sink?I'm referring in particular to the ubiquitous Great Crested Newt whose presence has yet again sunk plans for a hospital development near my home.There are 18000 sites in the UK where they reside-that doesn't really seem endangered to me.

[burnhal]

Difficult question. The 18000 possible sites is an estimate only. 3000 have actually been identified. Sites this particular newt needs for breeding are deepish ponds with a decent amount of aquatic vegetation. These are being lost at a fair rate- filling in accounting for some and neglect accounting for the rest- silting up, becoming stagnant. Although Britain has a reasonable population of this newt compared to some European countries, the critria here is breeding sites- are they close enough to allow a decent gene pool, is the population actually large enough to be self-sustaining.

[Avatar]

why are "they" always closing hospitals down all over the place and then wanting to build new ones?! Why didnt they just leave it alone?