October 07, 2008	Tuesday	Shawwal 7, 1429

Key findings of the annual “Red List” report, issued during an International Union for Conservation of Nature congress in Barcelona from Oct 5-14:

— There are 5,487 species of mammals in the world. Of the 4,651 species for which enough data is available, 1,139 or one in four are in danger of extinction. At least 76 mammals have gone extinct since 1500. The last survey of mammals was in 1996 and findings and categories are not directly comparable.

— 188 mammals are in the worst category before extinction, or “critically endangered”.

— One in two mammal species are declining in number.

— Main threats are loss of habitat and hunting by humans.

— Some species are recovering. China’s Pere David deer is extinct in the wild but captive populations have risen and could lead to re-introduction in the wild. The African elephant has been moved to “near threatened”, a lesser level of risk than its previous category as “vulnerable” because of rising numbers.

— Species’ ranges vary from a few hundred square metres (yards) for the Bramble Cay melomys, an Australian rat, to all the world’s oceans for the orca or killer whale. Most land species occupy an area smaller than Britain.—Reuters