IUCN Red List Reveals World’s Mammals in Crisis

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™ is the most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals. The Red List has confirmed there is an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever.

This information was made public at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

This study hows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction and at least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500.

The results also show conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild.

“Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General.

“We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.”

“The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 percent,” says Jan Schipper, of Conservation International and lead author in a forthcoming article in Science.

“This indicates that conservation action backed by research is a clear priority for the future, not only to improve the data so that we can evaluate threats to these poorly known species, but to investigate means to recover threatened species and populations.”

The results show 188 mammals are in the highest threat category of Critically Endangered, including the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), which has a population of just 84-143 adults and has continued to decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).