Red List of endangered species - wildlife disappearing as never before

By Paul Eccleston
The Daily Telegraph

Life on earth is disappearing with species hurtling towards extinction at an unprecedented rate.

One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70 per cent of the world's assessed plants now appear on the Red List of endangered plants and animals.

According to the World Conservation Union, (IUCN) which draws up the annual List, the extinction rate is up to 10,000 higher than expected.

Human activity causing loss of habitat through urbanisation, agriculture and deforestation combined with climate change is revealed to be the biggest threat to plants and animals.

There are now 41,415 species on the Red List and 16,306 are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.

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