Tigers, polar bears, black rhinos, Asian elephants and Bornean orang-utans are at risk of extinction unless action is taken immediately, conservation group WWF has warned.
To mark Endangered Species Day, WWF highlighted five of the world’s most iconic animals whose populations have been dramatically reduced in recent years – almost entirely because of humans.
Habitat loss, pollution, climate change and poaching are just some of the problems affecting a whole swathe of animal life.
By 2020, it is expected that 67 per cent of the world’s wildlife will have disappeared since the 1970s as a direct or indirect result of human behaviour, WWF said.
Such a large loss of life is one reason why scientists are considering declaring a new geological epoch, called the Anthropocene, as the bones of the extinct animals will eventually become part of future rocks.
Heather Sohl, WWF-UK’s chief advisor on wildlife, said: “The numbers can be devastating, but it’s not too late, with greater protection we can help to secure a positive future for endangered wildlife.
“Endangered Species Day is a reminder of the major efforts that need to be made, not just to protect these incredible species, but to look after all of the natural world, which is vital to our future too."
There are now believed to be just 40,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants, who have been reduced to just 15 per cent of their original territory.
“Numbers have dropped by at least 50 per cent over the last three generations, with herds found in isolated pockets in south and south-east Asia,” WWF said.
“As well as the significant loss of land, elephants are in decline because of the illegal wildlife trade and conflict with humans.”
The world has lost 95 per cent of its wild tigers over the past century because of poaching, habitat loss and conflict with humans. Some 3,900 remain.
However WWF said: “Efforts to save the species have meant that for the first time their numbers are on the increase.
“WWF is working with governments and community groups across Asia to save the species, with the aim of doubling the number of wild tigers to over 6,000 by 2022.”
Black rhinos have seen an even more rapid decline. Between just 1970 and 1992, about 96 per cent of the species were killed for their horns so that just 5,000 remain.
“Poaching of rhinos for rhino horn is still a huge threat, and the poachers have got increasingly better equipped,” WWF said.
Earth’s biggest land carnivore, the polar bear, is at risk largely because of the melting of the Arctic sea ice that it depends upon to hunt seals.
The region has seen stunning temperature rises – far in excess of the global average – with experts estimating it will be essentially free of sea ice sometime before 2050.
“Toxic chemicals and pollution in the food chain, along with conflict with Arctic villagers, are also affecting numbers. By 2050, polar bear numbers may have dropped by 30 per cent,” WWF said.
Orang-utans once lived from southern China to the Indonesia island of Java. Today they are only found on Borneo, which has a population of about 55,000, and Sumatra, where there are less than 15,000.
“As the orang-utans’ forests have disappeared, their numbers have plummeted by around 50 per cent in the last 60 years,” WWF said.
“One of the biggest threats to the species is the disappearance of their land to make way for palm oil production. Palm oil is used in many everyday products, such as soaps and food.”
