Gorillas, Hammerhead Sharks at Risk - Red List
Date: 13-Sep-07
Country: INTERNATIONAL
The Union, which comprises governments, conservation groups
and scientists, said that 16,306 species are threatened in a
mounting global "extinction crisis", up from 16,119 in 2006.
WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLA. Moved from Endangered to Critically
Endangered in 2006. The number of gorillas, found in several
central African nations, has fallen by 60 percent in the last
20-25 years because of the Ebola virus and hunting. Logging has
opened up roads for hunters to reach once impenetrable forests.
YANGTZE RIVER DOLPHIN OR BAIJI. Moved to Endangered/Possibly
Extinct from Critically Endangered in 2006. The last firm
sighting of the baiji, a type of dolphin unique to China's
Yangtze River, was in 2002. The baiji have been killed by
entanglement in fishing gear, boat propellers, dam construction,
silting up of the river and pollution.
GREAT HAMMERHEAD SHARK. Endangered, previously insufficient
data. The sharks' fins are prized as a delicacy, hammerheads
also suffer from getting entangled in nets and only breed once
every two years. Numbers in the eastern Atlantic may have
crashed by 80 percent in the last 25 years.
BORNEAN AND SUMATRAN ORANGUTANS. Sumatran orangutans are
critically endangered, Bornean endangered: unchanged after a new
survey. About 7,300 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild while
there are probably fewer than 45,000 to 69,000 in Borneo. Both
are threatened by habitat loss, to palm oil plantations in
Borneo and to logging in Sumatra.
CORALS/SEAWEEDS. Three corals from the Galapagos Islands in
the Pacific are entering the Red List for the first time -- the
first coals on the list and threatened by climate change and the
sea warming effect known as El Nino. Also, 74 Galapagos seaweeds
have been added in 2007.
GHARIAL. Moved to Critically Endangered from Endangered. A
type of crocodile found in India and Nepal, the gharial suffers
from a loss of habitat because of dams, irrigation, artificial
embankments and sand mining. The population has crashed from 436
in 1997 to 182 in 2006.
VULTURES. Both Asian and African vultures are under threat.
In Asia, the Egyptian vulture has moved from Least Concern to
Endangered and the Red-headed vulture from Near Threatened to
Critically Endangered. Numbers have fallen partly because a drug
used for livestock, diclofenac, is poisonous for vultures. In
Africa, three vulture species are facing greater threats.
WOOLLY STALKED BEGONIA. The woolly stalked begonia is the
only species declared Extinct this year. It was only found on
Penang Island, Malaysia.
BANGGAI CARDINALFISH. Endangered, entering the list for the
first time. The Indonesian fish, with zebra-like stripes, are
prized by the aquarium industry with 900,000 caught every year.
MAURITIUS ECHO PARAKEET. In a success story, the bird is
moving from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The world's
rarest parrot 15 years ago but there are now more than 320 in
the wild after captive breeding, better protection and feeding.
