11 December 2023 , 18:08
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Climate change is putting a record number of species at risk of dying out, according to an expert assessment.
Some 44,016 of the 157,190 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List are now under threat of extinction, which is up from 42,108 last year.
The update also includes the first global freshwater fish assessment and highlights the impact of illegal logging.
Of the assessed marine species, 3,086 out of 14,898 were at risk of vanishing, including Atlantic salmon.
Only 1,000 mountain gorillas remain alive (Getty Images)Previously common, the species is now near-threatened on the IUCN red list after its global population fell by 23%, having vanished from many rivers in the UK.
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IUCN director general Dr Grethel Aguilar said: “Climate change is menacing the diversity of life our planet harbours.”
The update was released at the Dubai COP28 conference.
Danger list
Java Rhino: about 75 left in the wild
Amur Leopard: around 100 left
Sunda Island Tiger: 600 left
Mountain Gorillas: 1,000 left
Tapanuli Orangutan: 800
Yangtze Finless Porpoise: 1,000
Black Rhinos: 5,630
African Forest Elephant: numbers not known
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Sumatran Orangutan: 14,000
Hawksbill Turtle: 20,000 - 23,000