Many types of plant, animal, and mammal species globally are at risk of extinction. Over 1 million species are threatened with extinction within the next few decades—an unprecedented rate, according to the IPBES— the intergovernmental scientific body on biodiversity. According to the United Nations, the world is undergoing a triple planetary crisis, and nature loss is one of the crises, the other two being climate change, pollution and waste.
Thankfully, many scientists are actively tracking the extinction rates of thousands of species to understand the threats they face better. Many such species are documented in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. This Red List is one of the world’s most comprehensive information sources on the global extinction risk status of different kinds of species. The latest update of the Red List, released last month during the 16th UN Conference on Biodiversity in Colombia, included an assessment of trees for the first time. The most recent update also brings the total number of assessed species to 166,061. Of these, 46,337 species are now listed as threatened. The high number illustrates the urgent reality of nature loss and the risk of many species disappearing forever without effective conservation.
While we know that human activities are driving nature loss, many may be unaware of the reasons that are pushing certain species to critically low numbers. Here, we take a closer look at three handpicked species from the press release of the recent update from the Red List, those that have moved up the radar of extinction. Although the red list briefly lists why these species are threatened, scientists and ecologists have investigated some unique reasons for extinction in more detail. Some of these reasons are unique and unusual, so it is worthwhile to draw attention to them.
European Hedgehog At Risk Of Extinction- Victims Of Traffic Collisions
European hedgehogs are small, spiny mammals with thousands of closely packed spines on their backs. While they were once widely seen across Europe, recent evidence shows a dramatic population decline. For instance, in the last 20 years, up to three-quarters of Britain’s rural hedgehog population has been lost, according to The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs report released in 2022. In the latest Red List release, the hedgehog moved up in the risk classification category from Least Concern to Near Threatened. This status could further escalate to threatened if conservation efforts are not intensified.
One reason for their population decline is road accidents. Hedgehogs are especially vulnerable to vehicles because their instinct in response to danger is to curl up and freeze. It is estimated that up to 335,000 hedgehogs die each year on UK roads.
Interesting campaigns are already underway to protect the remaining hedgehog population. In the UK, the Hedgehog Street campaign aims to ensure that hedgehogs remain a familiar part of British life. Among other valuable things, such as creating space to support the movement of hedgehogs through home gardens, the campaign also has instructions on what to do if you find an injured hedgehog on the road. Other similar initiatives to protect hedgehogs include Danmarks Pindsvin in Denmark, which involves counting the population of hedgehogs in the country at an annual event in August.
Asia’s Pygmy Elephants At Risk Of Extinction– Prefer Degraded Areas
Asia’s pygmy elephants, also known as Bornean elephants, were listed as endangered earlier this year. Only about 1,000 Bornean elephants remain in the wild, primarily in the forests of northeastern Borneo, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Less than 8.2 feet tall, just slightly taller than humans, they are characterized as some of the smallest species of elephants in the world.
A key reason for their population decline is their preference for degraded areas. These elephants live on the outskirts of protected forests, usually characterized as degraded or secondary forests, often not prioritized for conservation and places that become the target for conversion to agricultural land. Ecologists concluded this preference of the elephants by observing the behavior through data on the ground. They tracked 29 elephants with GPS collars and found they roamed around areas with lower tree heights and forest gaps, allowing them more effortless movement than dense primary forests.
The unique preference of these small elephants highlights an interesting fact: Degraded areas are just as important for conservation. And planting forests is only sometimes the right solution. Bornean elephants are not the only species that thrive in degraded areas. Other species, including those in the savannahs of Africa, also thrive in such regions, highlighting that paying attention to such species and their preferences for degraded areas in conservation efforts is essential.
Gran Canaria Reptiles At Risk Of Extinction– Preyed By Pet Cats
Reptiles in Gran Canaria are facing a growing risk of extinction. In the recent Red List update, the Gran Canaria giant lizard’s extinction status was raised from Least Concern to Critically Endangered, and the Gran Canaria skink was classified as Endangered. Endemic to the Canary Islands, these reptiles have seen their populations decline by 50% since 2014. One primary reason for their decline is invasive species, particularly cats.
Pet cats that prey on local wildlife are among the main reasons that the reptiles in Gran Canaria are declining in number, according to a recent paper in the Journal for Nature Conservation. There are around 50,000 domestic cats on the island, each preying on an average of 27 animals per year, totaling over 150 million prey—including reptiles, birds, and small mammals—annually. This study also draws attention to the urgent need to manage free-roaming pet cats in these islands to protect vulnerable native species.
The three species above are just handpicked examples of species at risk of extinction- based on press releases made as part of the Red List updates this year. Despite the small number, the reasons for risk to these species highlight a crucial point. It underlines that conservation efforts must be tailored to address each species’ unique threats. As governments and businesses think about nature loss more proactively, it is essential to factor in such tailored conservation responses to the unique species found in the region.