Green Daily

One in four mammals face extinction, according to a recent report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One in four. The IUCN says that this number could even be an underestimate and may be closer to one-third of all mammal species. Primates are particularly at high risk of extinction and the biggest threat to mammals is loss of habitat, including deforestation.

About 40% of mammal species are "compromised" due to human expansion threatening their habitat. Hunting, whether for food or for medicine, is the second biggest threat to land mammals. In the sea, the biggest problem is bycatch, which is entanglement in fishing nets, which endangers whales, dolphins, porpoises and other sea mammals.
Amphibians are the most threatened animal group of all with 366 species making it onto the IUCN's Red List. Some mammals are at risk of extinction due to causes other than man-made causes, such as the Tasmanian Devil, which is being decimated by a facial cancer.

The report's authors say that current concerns with financial matters must not be allowed to slow down work on the environmental crisis.