One in four of the world's 5,487 known mammal species face extinction, according to a new conservation "report card" unveiled today. Marine mammals face even steeper odds, with one in three species at risk of disappearing, according to the study. The assessment, done as part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species, took more than 1,700 experts from 130 countries five years to complete. Humans are mostly to blame, as habitat loss, pollution, and hunting continue to squeeze at-risk species. One in Four Mammals at Risk of Extinction
Perhaps if we counted ourselves among the 'one in four', we might have some sense of urgency. Alarms have been sounding all my life, yet the environmental destruction has only accelerated.
