MAMMALS are at even greater risk of extinction than birds, according to
the latest Red List of endangered species unveiled in Washington DC this week.
鈥淭he widespread assumption that birds are the most threatened class of creatures
turns out to have been entirely wrong,鈥� says Simon Stuart, the scientist in
charge of compiling the new, heavily revised lists.
鈥淲e now know that mammals are at much greater risk. Not just the cuddly,
furry ones, or the megafauna such as elephants and rhinos, which everyone knows
about, but hundreds of relatively unknown species of rodents, bats and
marsupials face an uncertain future,鈥� says Stuart, head of the species programme
at the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which is responsible for the list.
This is the first time conservationists have attempted to quantify exactly
how endangered species are. 鈥淏efore, too much was left to the opinions of
individual researchers,鈥� says Stuart. According to the new lists, 11 per cent of
bird species are threatened with global extinction, while 25 per cent of mammal
species face a similar fate.
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鈥淲e have been deceived in the past because mammals are much less mobile than
birds,鈥� says Stuart. If a habitat disappears in one place, birds find it easier
to move somewhere else. 鈥淎nd yes, ornithologists have always been very prominent
in conservation. I am an ornithologist myself.鈥�
Among mammals, the most endangered group are primates, with 46 per cent of
species threatened with extinction. These include the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey,
with fewer than 200 left in Vietnam, and the hairy-eared dwarf lemur of
Madagascar, which is down to a few hundred. Insectivores follow, with 36 per
cent of species endangered, then pigs and antelopes with 33 per cent. Among the
carnivores, the African wild dog is down to 5000. The list contains 鈥渁 whole
page of new squirrels鈥�, including Nelson鈥檚 antelope squirrel from the US, the
European squirrel and the woolly flying squirrel from Pakistan, says Stuart.
Of the birds, the most threatened group are the cranes, with 26 per cent of
species endangered, and the parrots at 25 per cent. In some cases鈥攕uch as
Spix鈥檚 macaw鈥攖here are only two or three birds known in the wild.
The new list, the product of work by thousands of conservation scientists
worldwide, includes the first complete review of mammalian species. Reptiles,
amphibians and fish await the same detailed attention. But in a sample survey,
the IUCN found that a fifth of reptile species are under threat, a quarter of
amphibian species and a third of fish species鈥攚hich suggests that fish
species may be at greater risk than the mammals.
鈥淔reshwater fish are clearly in a bad way, too,鈥� says Stuart. 鈥淭hey are hit
by dams, pollution and agriculture.鈥� One of the worst off is the pallid
sturgeon, with fewer than 600 left in the Mississippi basin in the US. But for
the first time, the IUCN has also added about a hundred species of marine fish.
They include the great white shark, several species of tuna and more than 30
species of seahorse.
Many are listed as threatened by overfishing. 鈥淭his is controversial,鈥� admits
Stuart. 鈥淢any fisheries scientists argue that no fish has ever become extinct
through overfishing. Modern fishing methods may change that, but in any case, we
think this is a debate that should be played out.鈥�