A new study warns people that the world’s flora and fauna could be in danger of getting significantly reduced, if suitable measures are not adopted in the near future. Here are the world’s 23 000 most endangered animal species as they have been categorized by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
The activities that humanity usually carries out have a negative impact both on Earth’s atmosphere and on its fauna and flora. According to a recent research that was conducted by conservation organizations, around 23 000 of the species that we know today could soon disappear as a result of the humans’ careless conduct.
Reckless deforestation, pollution and overpopulation are the main factors that have rendered these species vulnerable. The most threatened are, according to the Red List, the rarest exemplars of cave crabs, sea lions, but also regular lions from the African Savannah as their number has been significantly diminished in the recent years.
Even so, scientists did not forget to mention some of the achievements that non-governmental organizations have made, namely, the fact that they have saved the Iberian Lynx and the Guadalupe Fur Seal from extinction.
Past reports have shown that there were only 52 adult Iberian Lynx cats in the entire world, based on the data registered by biology institutions. In 2002, their number tripled to 156 exemplars after various efforts have been made by organizations to preserve their natural habitat and to help them reproduce.
Earth’s fauna is not the only one that is threatened by extinction. Rare species of plants could soon disappear once and for all as a result of the illegal trading activities that local inhabitants get involved in.
The most endangered species is the Paphiopedilum callosumis orchid, which has been many time subject to mass thefts. Asian traders get stimulated to destroy natural cultivations of orchids as these flowers are extremely sought across all European and non-European markets.
Unless local authorities won’t adopt new measures to prevent orchid robbery in the near future, more than 347 orchid species could soon become extinct. Yet, the organizations that are responsible for the protection of the said species claim it is very difficult to verify the activity of the traders because, most of the times, these plants are not legally cropped.
IUCN’s Red List has been published by many environmentally-friendly organizations in an attempt to draw people’s attention to this problem.
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