Toronto (ECN) - According to a study by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which publishes its red list Monday October 6 in Barcelona, half of all mammal species worldwide are in decline and a third are threatened with extinction.
One and four species of mammals is endangered or 1141 to 5487 species, IUCN said in the study, the most comprehensive ever conducted to date. However, the reality could prove to be worse than projected due to a lack of information on 836 mammals, warned the organization that holds its 4th Congress Oct. 14 in Barcelona.
Crisis"In reality, the number of mammals threatened with extinction could reach 36%," said Jan Schipper, an expert from IUCN, lead author of a forthcoming article in the journal Science. "Our results provide a very bleak picture of the overall situation of mammals in the world," he said, stressing that "half are in decline." At least 76 mammal species have disappeared since the year 1500. The extinction of mammals is considered a crisis and could be the sixth greatest period of species extinction. The previous crisis was that of the disappearance of the dinosaurs.
In total, the IUCN Red List created in 1963, lists 16,928 species of animals and plants threatened with extinction in 2007 against 16,306 of a total of 44,838 species placed under surveillance against 41,415 previously.
3246 species are classified as at highest risk, entitled "critically endangered". 4770 are considered "endangered" and 8912 as "vulnerable". The term "critically endangered" means that the probability of extinction of species is very important.
"Critically endangered"In the 2008 Red List, 188 mammals are listed as "critically endangered". This is the case of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). Some species of China's Père David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus) only survive in captivity.
Nearly 450 mammals have been classified as "endangered" as the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) (pictured above), a carnivorous marsupial whose population has dropped by almost 60% over the past ten years, due to increasing incidence of cancerous facial tumor still unexplained. The cat viverrin (Prionailurus viverrinus) in Southeast Asia rose from the category "vulnerable" to "endangered", a victim of the destruction of its natural habitat.
Same situation for the Caspian seal (Pusa caspica), whose population has plunged 90% over the past hundred years, a victim of hunters.
Habitat destruction and hunting - for all sorts of reasons, food, medical or otherwise - are by far the main threats, write Schipper and his colleagues in the journal Science.
Among other hazards, global warming affects species already living on the Arctic ice as polar bears.
Encouraging resultsYet, through various conservation measures, it would be possible to redress the global situation, encouraging results have been achieved in 5% of threatened mammals.
Thus, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), is considered "at risk", after successfully reintroduced in Mexico when he was previously classified as "extinct in the wild." Similarly, the wild horse (Equus FERUS) has been successful reintroductions in Mongolia. But "the more we wait, the more expensive it to prevent further extinctions of species," warned Jane Smart, head of species in IUCN.
