[FEL-L] More Species on Brink of Extinction

[GemOJungle at aol.com]

More Species on Brink of Extinction
By _Andrea  Thompson_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/php/contactus/author.php?r=at) , LiveScience Staff Writer 
posted: 12 September 2007 01:06 pm ET

 
 
 
 
More than 16,300 species of animals and plants are on the verge of  
disappearing from the planet, with nearly 200 more species approaching  extinction 
within the last year, according to the World Conservation Union's  2007 Red List 
of Threatened Species.  
The annually produced list classifies species according to their extinction  
risk. Based on the latest figures, there are now 41,415 species on the Red 
List,  with 16,306 _threatened  with extinction_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=367&gid=26&index=0) .  
However, scientists say they have no clue _how  many species_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/070803_gm_numberspecies.html)  truly exist on the 
planet, as most have yet to be catalogued.  Nonetheless, the Red List highlights 
risks to many visible species, including  mammals and other large creatures.  
“This year’s IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to  
protect species are not enough," said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director general 
of  the World Conservation Union (IUCN). "The rate of biodiversity loss is  
increasing, and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this 
 global extinction crisis.”  
The IUCN says that the total number of recently extinct species has reached  
785 this year, with another 65 species found only in captivity or in  
cultivation.  
According to the 2007 Red List, one quarter of all mammals, one eighth of all 
 birds and one third of all amphibians are jeopardy. Animals aren't the only  
species in danger, as 70 percent of the world's plants that have been 
assessed  are at risk of disappearing.  
Of our closest relatives, gorillas and orangutans are both classified as  
Critically Endangered (the last step on the list before Extinction status).  
Gorillas have been decimated by local human conflicts, the commercial _bushmeat  
trade_ (http://www.livescience.com/animals/070726_gorilla_deaths.html)  and the 
Ebola virus, with a 60 percent decline in their populations in  the last 25 
years. Orangutans are threatened by burning and logging of their  forest homes. 
 
The Yangtze River Dolphin, reported to be extinct several weeks ago and  
thought later to have been _recently  spotted_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/animals/070829_white_dolphin.html) , is listed as Critically Endangered and Possibly 
Extinct due to  habitat destruction from pollution and river traffic.  
Corals were added to list the list for the first time this year.  
People are the main reason for most species' decline, whether through direct  
means such as over-hunting or indirect means such as the introduction of  
invasive species. 







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