VilaWeb - Diari escola: Mammals in Danger of Extinction

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dimecres, 27 de novembre de 2024

> Mammals Under Threat

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> The Good News

dimarts, 14 d'octubre de 2008

The World Conservation Congress closes today in Barcelona. For ten days the Congress has hosted more than 8,000 specialists from the fields of sustainable development and biodiversity. The event was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is made up of over 1,000 organisations and 11,000 experts from 160 countries.

The IUCN has drawn up a Red List of Threatened Species, considered to be the most comprehensive information available on the conservation status of plants and animals. This year's Red List, announced in Barcelona, features 44,838 species, 16,928 (38%) of which are, to varying degrees, threatened with extinction. Out of these, 3,246 species fall under the category (there are several different categories) of Critically Endangered.

Leaving aside the actual figures, the most remarkable piece of data refers to the proportion of mammals, some 25%, that are in danger of extinction: 1,141 species out of a total of 5,487. Worse still, this figure could reach 36% as there are 836 mammals for which there is insufficient data.

Clearly, the fact that 25-36% of mammals are under threat is not due to just one cause but, rather, several: progressive destruction of habitats, hunting, pollution, etc.

+ The Review of the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species: informació d'aquesta llista, que ha revelat el perill d'extinció d'un mamífer de cada quatre.
+ Mammals news: notícies sobre mamífers de la IUCN.
+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Ecologisme i medi.

Mammals Under Threat

+ The Iberian Lynx has a population of only 84-143 adults.

Standing out amongst those mammals listed by the IUCN as under threat of extinction is the Iberian Lynx, of which there are only 84-143 adults—a number that has been in decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the European Rabbit; Père David's Deer, which originated in China and is extinct in the wild; a marsupial called the Tasmanian Devil, which has seen its population drop by 60% in the last decade; the Fishing Cat, found in Southeast Asia, in decline due to habitat loss in wetlands; and the Caspian Seal, whose population has reduced by 90% in the last 100 years.

Primates

+ Almost 50% of primates are under threat of disappearing.

The situation affecting monkeys, apes and other primates is hardly any better. According to the results of a five-year long study, 48% of the 634 species of primates are under threat of disappearing. That figure rises to 70% in the case of Asia. The main threats to the survival of Man's closest ancestor are the destruction of habitat (in particular due to the burning and cutting down of tropical forests), hunting for food, and illegal trade of wild species.

The Good News

+ The African Elephant has a growing population in southern and eastern Africa.

But it's not all bad news! According to the IUCN, 5% of wild mammals under threat are showing signs of recovery, a recovery that is possible when coordinated conservation is applied. For example, the Wild Horse has avoided extinction after successful reintroductions started in Mongolia in the early 1990s, and the African Elephant has a growing population in southern and eastern Africa.

MATERIALS

IUCN
Format:Web
Unió Internacional per la Conservació de la Natura, autora de la Llista Vermella d'Espècies Amenaçades i organitzadora del Congrés Mundial de la Natura (5-14 d'octubre). Anglès, espanyol i francès.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Format:Web
Pàgina oficial.
IUCN/SSC
Format:Web
Grup Especialista en Primats de la IUCN.
Creature Features
Format:Llibre
Pàgina sobre animals de la National Geographic Society. Adreçada al jovent.

QUE HO SABIES?

One of the largest mammals under threat is the African Black Rhinoceros, which has gone from being the most common species of rhinoceros, to appearing on the IUCN list of critically endangered species.
According to the IUCN, 75% of bears are in danger of becoming extinct. The situation is particularly serious in Latin America and in Asia.
The Polar Bear, associated with the Arctic, is particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Last year the Artic summer melting reached its highest level in history.