12 Frightening Species Extinction Facts

12 Frightening Species Extinction Facts 16,928 plant and animal species are known to be threatened with extinction. This may be a gross underestimate because less than 3% of the world’s 1.9 million described species have been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. • Only 1.9 million species have been described out of an estimated 13-14 million species that exist. • In the last 500 years, human activity is known to have forced 869 species to extinction (or extinction in the wild). • One in four mammals and one in eight birds face a high risk of extinction in the near future. • One in three amphibians and almost half of all tortoises and freshwater turtles are threatened. • The current species extinction rate is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural or ‘background’ rate. • The total number of known threatened animal species has increased from 5,205 to 8,462 since 1996. Habitat loss and degradation affect 89% of all threatened birds, 83% of mammals, and 91% of threatened plants. • All 22 species of albatross are under threat as a result of long-line fishing. • A total of 8,457 threatened plants are listed. This is around 2% of the world’s described plants. As only approximately 4% of the world’s described plants have been evaluated, the true percentage of threatened plant species is much higher. • Indonesia, India, Brazil and China are among the countries with the most threatened mammals and birds. • The frequently asked question of “how many species have gone extinct in the last 100 years” is difficult to answer because of problems in recording contemporary extinction events. Decline and eventual extinction may take place over many years, or even centuries in the case of very long-lived organisms like some of the large mammal and tree species. Follow US! Blog https://www.ecomasteryproject.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ecomasteryp ... Pinterest https://www.pinterest.ca/ecomasterypr ... Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Eco-Mastery- ... Twitter https://twitter.com/ecomasterypro

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