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Science Forum Index » Environment Forum » Riverine rabbit and others are racing toward extinction, say
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| Aozotorp |
 Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:18 am |
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http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-18/s_10500.asp
Riverine rabbit and others are racing toward extinction, says Red List
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
By Erica Bulman, Associated Press
GENEVA, Switzerland — Imagine having to tell your children that it's the end
of the line for Peter Rabbit, and that he and the rest of the Cottontail family
had nowhere to live and were decimated by trappers and wild animals.
That's what conservationists are having to do in South Africa, where the
riverine rabbit is on the brink of extinction. With fewer than 250 breeding
pairs left, the riverine rabbit could soon join the long-departed wooly mammoth
among the ranks of vanished creatures.
The bunnies aren't the only ones facing extinction. According to the 2003 Red
List of Threatened Species released Tuesday by the World Conservation Union
(IUCN), the variegated spider monkey, the tiny Galapagos snail, and the Mekong
giant catfish are also fighting for their future.
The turtlelike Seychelles fresh water terrapin lost its battle this year and is
gone forever.
Two Hawaiian plants — the flowering Clermonteia peleane and the palmlike
Cyanea superba — both critically endangered last year, are now extinct in the
wild. Eight other species were added to the extinct in the wild list, including
an earthworm from Tasmania, Australia, last seen in 1971.
There are 12,259 known plants and animal species threatened with extinction,
falling into the critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable categories,
said the IUCN.
Last year the number was at 11,167, but the Gland, Switzerland–based
organization said it is difficult to compare the numbers because new species
are being discovered and others change categories.
The only burrowing rabbit in Africa, the riverine rabbit is recognized by its
distinctive long ears, a black-brown stripe on its lower jaw, and a dark fluffy
tail visible when it hops away. Already considered one of the rarest animals in
the world, the riverine rabbit produces only one offspring a year and about
four in a lifetime.
With the loss of habitation and prey to trappers, feral cats, and dogs, it is
expected to become even rarer, the report said.
Like the furry-footed leaf-eaters, Southeast Asia's Mekong giant catfish, one
of the world's largest freshwater fish, was also uplisted to critically
endangered.
Up to 3 meters (10 feet) long and 300 kilograms (660 pounds), this fat catfish
suffers from overfishing, habitat loss, and obstruction of migration routes
through dam construction. Its numbers have declined by more than 80 percent the
last 13 years.
Two Latin American primate species have also become critically endangered
because of habitat loss.
On the island paradises of Hawaii, the Seychelles, and Galapagos, invasive
species are squeezing out thousands of native varieties.
Many of the 49 species of Galapagos Island snails are critically endangered,
possibly already extinct. Once collected by Charles Darwin, the tiny snails had
survived volcanoes and extreme drought over the millennia. But invasive species
such as goats, pigs, and fire ants, are threatening them, experts said. So is
human invasion, which is also endangering some 85 plant species on the islands
due to housing development, tourism, and agriculture.
"The Red List tells us human activities are leading to a swathe of extinctions
that could make these islands ecologically and aesthetically barren," said
Achim Steiner, director general of the World Conservation Union.
The short-beaked dolphin of the Mediterranean was added to the endangered list
after it declined more than 50 percent over the last 30 to 40 years because the
fish it eats have been depleted by pollution and overfishing.
Surprisingly, 11 species previously considered extinct were rediscovered this
last year — including the fabulous green sphinx moth found in Hawaii. The
moth was likely thought extinct because it is so difficult to collect.
Indonesia, India, Brazil, China, and Peru are among the countries with the
highest number of known threatened birds and mammals, while plants are
declining rapidly in Ecuador, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, and Sri Lanka, the
report said.
The Red List, produced by a network of some 7,000 experts working in almost
every country in the world, found that 762 species have disappeared over the
last 500 years, with a further 58 known only in artificial settings, such as
zoos.
The group has examined some 18,000 species and subspecies around the globe. But
scientists say much more must be done. Earth is home to an estimated 14 million
species, and only 1.75 million have been documented. Many may become extinct
before they are even identified.
Conservationists think the current extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times
higher than it should be under natural conditions. That means that in the first
decades of the 21st century, many creatures may disappear.
The primary reason is humans. Everything from expanding cities to
deforestation, agriculture, and fishing pose a significant threat to the
planet's biodiversity, IUCN says.
"Human activities may be the main threat to the world's species, but humans can
also help them recover," said Steiner. |
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