In California there are 289 animals and plants on the list of threatened species: one hundred and eleven animals and 178 plants. The Endangered Species Act was created in 1973 to fight the exhaustion of all endangered species. Before a plant or animal species can receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, it must be first on the list of road are endangered and threatened species. To be on the list, the species are actually threatened or endangered. The Act has a list of all threatened, endangered, and extinct species (Bagheera website).