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Good news from the war on other species: 500 more species nearly wiped out!
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| trancaholic |
Overall highlight must be the impressive reduction in number of hippos:
| quote: | 16,000 endangered species on Red List
Polar bears, hippos and freshwater fish are among more than 16,000 species of animal, bird, fish and plant threatened with global extinction, the World Conservation Union said today.
According to the Swiss-based group, known by its acronym IUCN, the number of species classified as in serious danger of extinction rose from about 15,500 in its previous Red List report, published in 2004.
These include one in three amphibians, a quarter of the world’s mammals and coniferous trees and one in eight birds, according to a preview of the 2006 Red List. The full report is published later this week.
“Biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down,” said IUCN director general Achim Steiner. “The implications of this trend for the productivity and resilience of ecosystems and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them are far-reaching.”
The Red List classifies about 40,000 different species according to their risk of extinction and provides a searchable online database of the results. The total number of species on the planet is unknown, with 15 million being the most widely accepted estimate. Up to 1.8 million are known today.
People are the main reason for most species’ decline, mainly through habitat destruction, according to IUCN.
Polar bears are threatened by global warming and melting ice caps, because they are conditioned for the icy environment and depend on Arctic ice floes for hunting seas. They are predicted to suffer a 30% population decline in the next 45 years.
The hippopotamus population in war-ravaged Congo, meanwhile, has plummeted by 95%, mainly due to unregulated hunting for meat and ivory in their teeth.
“Regional conflicts and political instability in some African countries have created hardship for many of the region’s inhabitants and the impact on wildlife has been equally devastating,” said IUCN chief scientist Jeffrey McNeely.
Freshwater fish have suffered some of the most dramatic population declines because of human activities that damage their habitat, like forest clearance, pollution and water extraction.
Around the Mediterranean, more than half of the 252 endemic species are threatened with extinction.
Seven species, including two relatives of carp, are already extinct, IUCN said.
The conservation union warned that the decline in wetlands and freshwater ecosystems will also damage supplies for humans of food, clean drinking water and sanitation.
Other species threatened with extinction include desert gazelles, ocean sharks and Mediterranean flowers, IUCN said.
Some 784 are listed as extinct, a small increase from 2004, while 65 are found only in captivity. But the situation looks a little brighter for some others, such as the white-tailed eagle and Indian vultures.
“Reversing this trend is possible, as numerous conservation success stories have proven,” Steiner said. “Biodiversity cannot be saved by environmentalists alone. It must become the responsibility of everyone with the power and resources to act.” |
(Source)
I'm so happy that I'm going to be a bitter old dying cynic in 50 years rather than a youngster having to inherit the world.:) |
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| Marc Summers |
Well, hippos are one of the worlds most dangerous animals. There are more hippo-related deaths than crocodiles and sharks combined.
Hey, if we can bring the wooly mammoth back (Soon), we can do anything. |
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| Lepanto |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
Well, hippos are one of the worlds most dangerous animals. There are more hippo-related deaths than crocodiles and sharks combined.
Hey, if we can bring the wooly mammoth back (Soon), we can do anything. |
...what? |
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| NeoPhono |
I just wonder how many species would be on the verge of extinction if humans did not exist at all. Biologically speaking, the earth is constantly gaining and losing species. I mean, we weren't around during the time of the dinosuars, and a great percentage of the species around during that time are no longer here, at no fault of our own.
I'm not saying losing life on earth is a good thing, but 500 out of a proposed 15 million sounds more like natural turnover to me than a human-lead xenocidal conspiracy.
My two cents. |
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| Marc Summers |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lepanto
...what? |
Remember like, 6 years ago they found a completly preserved wooly mammoth in Siberia? They've been ing around with it's DNA, and implanting it in elephants to create a new mammoth race. At least that is what the discovery channel said. |
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| trancaholic |
| @Neo: Good point. However, the 500 is just in a span of four years. Moreover, if you are right, one would expect new species to replace those being wiped out. Have you heard of new species emerging in known areas (as opposed to being discovered along with remote parts of jungle/ocean floor)? Especially species of similar level of sophistication level as the hippo or polar bear? Say, in the last 100 years? |
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| Lepanto |
| quote: | Originally posted by Marc Summers
Remember like, 6 years ago they found a completly preserved wooly mammoth in Siberia? They've been ing around with it's DNA, and implanting it in elephants to create a new mammoth race. At least that is what the discovery channel said. |
no no i know that. they found him in russia. but the other part of your post :wtf: |
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| NeoPhono |
| quote: | Originally posted by trancaholic
@Neo: Good point. However, the 500 is just in a span of four years. Moreover, if you are right, one would expect new species to replace those being wiped out. Have you heard of new species emerging in known areas (as opposed to being discovered along with remote parts of jungle/ocean floor)? Especially species of similar level of sophistication level as the hippo or polar bear? Say, in the last 100 years? |
Actually, from what I know, the number of species is not a constant. There are certain periods in earth's history where you have a relatively large amount of species, compared to other times. And then there are the 5 major extinction events as well. Maybe this graph will show it a little better.
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| Marc Summers |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lepanto
no no i know that. they found him in russia. but the other part of your post :wtf: |
Yeah man, seriously, hippos are nothing to mess around with!
| quote: | | While they are typically content to sleep away the day on the shore of a river or in the shallows, when alarmed they are quick to show their hostile side. Hippos are reputed to cause more human deaths than any other large animal in Africa |
SOURCE
:nervous: |
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| CONNERMAN2000 |
| holy crap i thought hippos were harmless. |
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| occrider |
 ? Or insurgent hippos? :nervous: |
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