Boas: Boidae

According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), one species is Endangered, facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. In addition, four are Vulnerable, which means that they face a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future, and two are Near Threatened and are at risk of becoming threatened with extinction in the wild in the future. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists three species as Endangered. The low numbers of these snakes result from loss of their habitat and, in the case of the endangered Mona boa, from cats and rats that have been introduced to the area and prey on the snakes. In addition to these listed snakes, one species may be extinct, that is, no longer alive. Scientists have only one record of this species, called Cropan's boa or Corallus cropanii, which dates back to the mid-1900s.