A new metric of extinction risk considers how cultures care for species
When local cultures are threatened, that puts their important species at risk
![An underwater photo of a juvenile dugong swimming in the Red Sea not too far from the surface.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/012423_jc_biocultural_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Dugongs, like this juvenile in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, were recently added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Under a new metric that accounts for cultural connections between species and humans, dugongs are endangered.
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