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World’s mammals in extinction crisis

7/10//2008

IUCN Red List reveals global extinction crisis with almost one in four mammals at risk of disappearing forever.

The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, according to The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, revealed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona this week.

The new study to assess the world’s mammals shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500. But the results also show conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild.

“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 ecosystems where they live,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “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.”

Habitat loss and degradation affect 40 percent of the world’s mammals. It is most extreme in Central and South America, West, East and Central Africa, Madagascar, and in South and Southeast Asia. Over harvesting is wiping out larger mammals, especially in Southeast Asia, but also in parts of Africa and South America.

FFI is actively protecting many of the mammals found to be under threat in the IUCN’s assessment, through conservation efforts focusing on both species and habitats. For example, the Iberian Lynx, which has a population of just 84-143 adults, has continued to decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the rabbit. FFI is helping to restore Lynx habitat in a bid to return this stunning creature to the wild in southern Portugal.

“Success stories such as the Arabian oryx, which FFI helped return from the brink of extinction, show that, with the right approach, biodiversity conservation works,” said Camila Iturra, Individuals Giving Officer at FFI. “We simply could not carry out such vital work without ongoing support from donors. In the face of such frightening statistics from IUCN it is essential people don’t give up on our threatened wildlife, but continue to give generously to our cause”.

Fauna & Flora International helped to establish the IUCN during the 1940s. Since then IUCN has evolved into a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations and is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species.

Please click here to help FFI fight the global extinction crisis.

FFI Communications contact:
Roger Ingle
Communications Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1223 579 332
roger.ingle@fauna-flora.org