One in Four Mammals at Risk of Extinction

A comprehensive, international survey released today, showed that half of all 5,487 mammal populations are declining.

Just today, data from a global survey was revealed at a meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Barcelona, Spain.  1,700 researchers took part in the survey and named habitat loss and hunting as the major causes of the current, mass extinction.

Jan Schipper, who led the team, said: “Mammals are declining faster than we thought — one in four species is threatened with extinction worldwide.”

He said that land animals in Asia have been the hardest hit, where almost 80% of the primates are at risk.  Other mammals at risk across the globe include the blue whale, the bumblebee bat, the Caspian seal and the Tasmanian Devil.

Scientists currently have data for 4,651 species of mammals.  According to this study, 1,139 of these species face the threat of extinction.

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“Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions,” said Julia Marton-Lefevre, director general of the IUCN, which compiles the “Red List” of threatened species.

A recently updated “Red List” showed that, out of a total of 44,838 species, 16,928, or 38 percent, were threatened. Among animals facing the gravest risks are amphibians, such as frogs and toads.

The report, revealed during an Oct 5-14 IUCN congress, was not all bad news.   The study showed that five percent of species are recovering due to conservation efforts.   The European bison, and the black-footed ferret, (found in North America) are two species on the rebound.

Source: Reuters

Image:  Image from Wikimedia Commons

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