Study: Half of All Mammals in Decline

Yet another disheartening sign of dramatic changes in ecosystems across the world: a new study reports that one in two mammal species on Earth are in decline, and at least one in four are at risk of extinction. The study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that mammal populations are declining faster than scientists previously thought.  The data, compiled by 1,700 experts in 130 countries, might even be a bit rosier than actual reality: there are hundreds of mammal species that weren’t included in the study.

From MSNBC:

“The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 percent,” Schipper said in a statement released by the IUCN at a gathering in Barcelona.

“Our results paint a bleak picture of the global status of mammals worldwide,” Schipper and his co-authors said in the study. “We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining.”

“The situation is particularly serious for land mammals in Asia, through the combined effects of overharvesting and habitat loss,” the experts wrote in their study, “and for marine species, victims of our increasingly intensive use of the oceans.”

Habitat loss and degradation is mostly to blame.  The fastest population declines are being seen in countries where industrialization is occurring at a rapid pace, including Central and South America, West, East and Central Africa, Madagascar and in South and Southeast Asia.  Among the most critically endangered animals is the Iberian lynx, with an adult population estimated at no more than 143.

Because of our own spread across the earth, wiping out forests and other animal habitats, we could see hundreds of mammals go extinct within our lifetime.  Those naïve about the interconnectedness of nature might think, ‘oh well – animals go extinct. It happens. What difference does it make to us?’  It truly makes all the difference in the world – it’s the butterfly effect times a thousand. We rely on the diversity of nature in so many ways.  The mass extinction of mammals across the globe could be disastrous for humans, as well as the rest of the earth.

Skyscraper farms and population-dense urban areas with clean mass transit are looking smarter and smarter.  We’ve got to stop our destructive sprawl into the few remaining areas of untouched land.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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