The northern white rhino, reed warbler and Hawaiian cow represent only a fraction of the many species listed on the IUCN List of Threatened Species. Furthermore, many thousands of species have already become extinct around the world in the last 100 years. The impact of extinction on the biological world is unprecedented and creates a ripple effect that impacts all aspects of our lives. The current rate of extinction is beyond our reach, our resources are limited and our time is inadequate. On top of that, ecologists can't even successfully estimate the number of organisms facing extinction! To face this titanic task it is necessary, today more than ever, to draw up a ranking of importance to decide which species to conserve. When it comes to conservation, what's the first thing you think of? Definitely a Bengal tiger or a fluffy polar bear. This is because the main focus of conservation is on flagship species. These are generally public favorites, which allows them to secure much of the funding. The most famous species range from the cute panda to the good old American bald eagle. A disadvantage of this method is that fixating on a small number of organisms distorts public perception of conservation. This type of conservation is essential to putting the topic on the public agenda, but too much attention can be harmful. Although there is substantial overlap between keystone and flagship species, there are still many ecologically important organisms that are lacking attention. Unlike pandas, spiders are an example of a keystone species but not a flagship species. Spiders are crucial in supporting many food chains, so if a little paper to conclude, the theory of consequentialism should be applied when deciding which species deserve a higher level of conservation. Therefore, conservation should be applied in such a way as to achieve the maximum amount of good for the maximum number of species. This involves conserving species that can support others and sustain a high level of biodiversity. Furthermore, measures need to be taken to ensure that some species are not subject to too much or no conservation. However, we can never be sure whether the conservation of some species that are too close to extinction is actually a fool's errand. Like the American bison, which was nearly abandoned as its population dropped to 950, it ultimately survived. The northern white rhino may be a basket case. Or it could be another American bison waiting to be saved. By Usama Safeer