Red List of endangered species - thousands of species at risk of disappearing

Red List of endangered species - thousands of species at risk of disappearing

By Paul Eccleston
Last Updated: 1:01pm BST 06/10/2008

The world is in the grip of an extinction crisis with thousands of species at risk of disappearing forever.

The survival of at least one in four land mammals is in doubt but it could be as high as one in three, according to the latest Red List of endangered species.

In the world's oceans and seas the situation is even worse with one in three marine mammals under threat.

Amphibians are also in severe trouble with 366 species added to the 2008 Red List. There are now 2,030 species - one in three - either threatened or extinct.

And a representative sample of reptiles shows that over one in five face a battle to survive.

Life on Earth is disappearing fast with man inflicting most of the damage, according to the most comprehensive report of its kind drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

On land more species face oblivion because of loss of habitat, hunting and climate change while in the oceans pollution and the side effects of fishing are taking a huge toll.

An international research team made up of more than 1,700 experts in 130 countries compiled data for the world's 5,487 mammalian species including for the first time marine mammals. All the world's birds and amphibians were also assessed.

It revealed that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction and at least half are in decline.

But because there is insufficient information on more than 800 species the figure could be much higher.

The areas of the world that have the richest biodiversity - such as south and south-east Asia - are among the most threatened and where mammals face a bleak future. The report said 79 per cent of primates species in the region are threatened with extinction.

The Red List reveals that 29 species have been flagged as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) which means that in all probability - but not confirmed - that the creature is extinct. It includes Cuba's Little Earth Hutia (Mesocapromys sanfelipensis), a small rodent, which has not been seen in almost 40 years.

There are 188 mammals in the Critically Endangered highest threat category which is only a step down from extinction. It includes the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), which is down to a population of just 84-143 adults.

Almost 450 mammals are listed as Endangered which is the next category down including the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), which moved from Least Concern to Endangered after the global population plummeted by more than 60 per cent in the last 10 years due to an infectious facial cancer.

Habitat loss and degradation caused by agriculture and deforestation affects 40 per cent of the world's mammals and is most extreme in central and south America, west, east and central Africa, Madagascar, and in south and south-east Asia.

Over harvesting is wiping out larger mammals, especially in south-east Asia, but also in parts of Africa and south America.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN director general, said: "Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the eco-systems where they live.

"We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives."

Jan Schipper of Conservation International and lead author of a Red List article in Science, said: "The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 per cent.

"This indicates that conservation action backed by research is a clear priority for the future, not only to improve the data so that we can evaluate threats to these poorly known species, but to investigate means to recover threatened species and populations."

But the IUCN report - the first since 1996 to include the conservation status and distribution of animals around the world - claims that species can be pulled back from the brink of extinction if conservation measures are taken.

The Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) moved from Extinct in the Wild to Endangered after a successful reintroduction by the US Fish and Wildlife Service into eight western states and Mexico from 1991-2008.

And the Wild Horse (Equus ferus) moved from Extinct in the Wild in 1996 to Critically Endangered this year after successful reintroductions started in Mongolia in the early 1990s.

Overall, the IUCN Red List now includes 44,838 species of flaura and fauna of which 16,928 (38 per cent) are threatened with extinction.

Of these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, Critically Endangered, 4,770 are Endangered and 8,912 are Vulnerable to extinction.

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