3 species facing extinction and the unique reasons why

Many species of plants, animals and mammals worldwide are in danger of extinction. More than 1 million species are threatened with extinction within the next few decades – an unprecedented rate, according to IPBES – the intergovernmental scientific body on biodiversity. According to the United Nations, the world is going through a triple planetary crisis and the loss of nature is one of the crises, the other two being climate change, pollution and waste.

Fortunately, many scientists are actively monitoring the extinction rates of thousands of species to better understand the threats they face. Many such species are documented on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. This Red List is one of the world’s most comprehensive sources of information on the global threat status of different species. The latest update of the Red List, released last month during the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference in Colombia, included an assessment of trees for the first time. The latest update also brings the total number of rated items to 166,061. Of these, 46,337 species are now listed as endangered. The high number demonstrates the urgent reality of nature loss and the risk that many species may disappear forever without effective conservation.

While we know that human activities lead to the loss of nature, many may be unaware of the reasons that push some species to extremely low numbers. Here, we take a closer look at three selected species from the recent Red List update press release, those that have moved up on the extinction radar. Although the red list summarizes the reasons why these species are threatened, scientists and conservationists have investigated in more detail some unique reasons for extinction. Some of these reasons are unique and unusual, so it is worth drawing attention to them.

European hedgehog in danger of extinction – Victims of traffic collisions

European hedgehogs are small, spiny mammals with thousands of spines on their backs. While once widely found throughout Europe, recent evidence shows a dramatic population decline. For example, over the past 20 years, up to three-quarters of Britain’s hedgehog population has been lost, according to Britain’s hedgehog state report released in 2022. In the latest edition of the Red List, the The hedgehog has been upgraded to the hazard 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 traffic accidents. Hedgehogs are particularly vulnerable to vehicles because their instinctive response to danger is to curl up and freeze. It is estimated that up to 335,000 hedgehogs die every year on UK roads.

Interesting campaigns have already been launched 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 into home gardens, the campaign also has guidance on what to do if you find an injured hedgehog on the street. Other similar initiatives to protect hedgehogs include Danmarks Pindsvin in Denmark, which involves counting the country’s hedgehog population at an annual event in August.

The pygmy elephants of Asia Endangered– Prefer degraded areas

Asian pygmy elephants, also known as Bornean elephants, were listed as endangered earlier this year. Only about 1,000 Bornean elephants remain in the wild, mostly in the forests of northeastern Borneo, Malaysia and Indonesia. At less than 8.2 feet tall, slightly taller than humans, they rank as some of the smallest elephant species in the world.

The main reason for their population decline is their preference for degraded areas. These elephants live on the fringes of protected forests, usually classified as degraded or secondary forests, often not prioritized for conservation and areas targeted for conversion to agricultural land. Ecologists came up with this preference of elephants by observing the behavior through data on the ground. These tracked 29 elephants with GPS collars and found that they roamed around areas with lower tree heights and forest gaps, allowing them to move more easily 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 African savannas, also thrive in such areas, emphasizing that attention to such species and their preferences for degraded areas in conservation efforts is essential.

Gran Canaria Reptiles Endangered– Preyed By Pet Cats

Reptiles in Gran Canaria face an increasing risk of extinction. In the recent update of the Red List, the The extinction status of the Gran Canaria giant lizard has been raised from Least Concern to Critically Endangered, and the Gran Canaria skink was classified as threatened. Endemic to the Canary Islands, these reptiles have seen their population decline by 50% since 2014. A major reason for their decline is invasive species, especially cats.

Pet cats preying on local wildlife are among the main reasons reptiles in Gran Canaria are declining in numbers, according to a recent publication in Journal of Nature Conservation. There are approximately 50,000 resident cats on the island, each of which hunts one an average of 27 animals per yeara total of over 150 million game animals—including reptiles, birds, and small mammals—annually. This study also draws attention to the urgent need to manage free-roaming domestic cats on these islands to protect vulnerable native species.

The three species above are just selected examples of endangered species – based on press releases made as part of this year’s Red List updates. Despite the small numbers, the risk factors for these species raise a critical point. It emphasizes that conservation efforts must be tailored to address the unique threats of each species. As governments and businesses think about nature loss more proactively, it is important to consider such adaptive conservation responses to the unique species found in the region.