Isle moth comes back
from ‘extinction’ to
join endangered list
GENEVA >> Which is faster, the riverine rabbit or the Galapagos snail? Conservationists say both are racing toward extinction at the same breakneck speed.
The two are among 12,259 plants and animals on this year's Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the World Conservation Union.
Conservationists believe the extinction rate for species is 1,000-10,000 times higher than it should be under natural conditions, meaning many creatures might disappear during the next few decades.
The primary reason: humans. The planet's biodiversity is significantly threatened by everything from expanding cities to deforestation, agriculture and fishing, said the group, known as IUCN.
"Human activities may be the main threat to the world's species, but humans can also help them recover," said Achim Steiner, director general of the Gland, Switzerland-based organization.
Species on the Red List are categorized as "critically endangered," "endangered" or "vulnerable." The riverine rabbit and Galapagos snail were reclassified from endangered to critically endangered -- one step before being considered "extinct in the wild."
Last year, there were 11,167 species on the Red List, but the IUCN said it is difficult to compare numbers from year to year because new species are discovered and others change categories.
For example, 11 species previously considered extinct -- including the fabulous green sphinx moth from Hawaii -- were rediscovered this past year. The moth was considered extinct because it is so difficult to collect, the IUCN said.
The Red List, produced by a global network of about 7,000 experts, found that 762 known species disappeared during the last 500 years, with another 58 known only in artificial settings, such as zoos.
South Africa's riverine rabbit has fewer than 250 breeding pairs. The rabbits -- prey to trappers, feral cats and dogs -- are losing habitat and are expected to decline even further.
On the islands of Hawaii, the Seychelles and Galapagos, invasive species are squeezing out thousands of native varieties.
Many of the 49 known species of Galapagos Island snails are critically endangered and possibly already extinct. The tiny snails, once collected by Charles Darwin, survived volcanoes and extreme drought over the millennia.
But invasive species such as goats, pigs and fire ants are threatening them, experts said.
So is human invasion, which also is endangering some 85 plant species on the islands through housing development, tourism and agriculture.
Another species that has become critically endangered is Southeast Asia's Mekong giant catfish, one of the world's largest freshwater fish. The catfish, which is up to 10 feet long and weighs 660 pounds, suffers from overfishing, habitat loss and obstruction of migration routes through dam construction. Its numbers have declined 80 percent in the last 13 years.
Scientists say Earth is home to an estimated 14 million species -- and only 1.75 million of them have been documented.
Many might become extinct before they are even identified.
