The predicament of data-deficient species: To save or not to save

Conservation of species has been paramount in maintaining the health of the world’s biodiversity and preserving the environment for future generations [1]. Mandated by the United Nations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species has been the cardinal resource for the global conservation status and the extinction risk of biological species since its inception in 1964. The Red List presents not as a singular catalog of living species at risk but as a repository of information encompassing the geographical distribution, habitat, niche, population size, and range of a species along with the potential threats to its existence owing to poaching, illegal trade, habitat destruction or any other anthropological or natural sequelae. This comprehensive information effectively equips conservationists to formulate conservation actions for each species under threat of extinction [2].