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Some species rebound, but more become endangered

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 6:35 am

From the Scientific American:

The global crisis for endangered species is more serious than the financial meltdown, with numbers of imperiled animals and plants rising at record rates, scientists are warning in a report released today.

In its latest four-year assessment of endangered species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added several new entries to the Red List of Threatened Species. Judging from the list’s expansion, the report warns, the world is unlikely to meet a goal of reversing a trend toward species depletion by 2010.

The report, “Wildlife in a Changing World,” estimates that 22 percent of known mammals are either facing the threat of extinction or are already extinct. It also found great stress for amphibians, with more than 30 percent classified as threatened or extinct.

“We now know that nearly one quarter of the world’s mammals, nearly one third of amphibians and more than 1 in 8 of all bird species are at risk of extinction,” IUCN warns. “This allows us to come to the stark conclusion that wildlife … is in trouble.”

Read more from the Scientific American by clicking here.

July 3, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Wildlife

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