Ten endangered species on wildlife Red List

Published Sep 28, 2000

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Gland, Switzerland - This is a selection of 10 endangered species named in the Red List of the world's threatened wildlife, published on Thursday by the World Conservation Union:

- Philippine Eagle: Deforestation has helped drive down numbers of this Philippine predator from around 6 000 to as few as 350 to 600 birds in less than four decades.

- Iberian Lynx: The world's most threatened wildcat. There are about 600 survivors in the wild, living in fragmented groups in Spain and Portugal. Habitat loss, hunting and loss of its staple food, rabbits, from the disease myxamatosis, are to blame.

- Chinese Alligator: Highly endangered crocodilian, growing up to two metres and surviving in the lower parts of the Yangtze River. Numbers difficult to estimate. Habitat destruction and killing by local farmers are main factors in the decline.

- Tibetan Antelope: A native to the Tibetan Plateau whose estimated numbers have fallen from as much as a million to as little as 65 000 in just 50 years. The cause: poaching for a soft wool, shahtoosh, that is woven into shawls and scarves, a fashion accessory among Western women.

- Mandrinette: A red-flowered shrub that now numbers only 46 plants in the wild, growing on the steep slopes of two mountains of Mauritius. Decline blamed on introduced species. The good news is that mandrinette grows well from cuttings and is being artificially propagated.

- Sturgeon: Unique survivor from ancient history, now threatened by the caviar trade, especially in eastern Europe, the Black Sea and Caspian. Fourteen out of 17 species are listed as in danger. Efforts to reintroduce them in North America and Western Europe making slow headway.

- Cross River Gorilla: The most neglected and endangered sub-species of gorilla. Between 150 and 200 remain, eking out a life in half a dozen fragmented communities on forested hills on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

- Bonin Fruit Bat: Found in small numbers on five small, remote Japanese islands, the Ogasawara, or Bonin, archipelago. Species was listed as vulnerable in 1996 Red List; it is now considered critically endangered because of continued hunting and deforestation.

- South Asian Box Turtles: Eight species of freshwater turtle that were once prolific in Asia, from Bangladesh to Japan. The Asian food and medicine market, especially in China, has led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands over the past decade. Legal protection of these turtles is often ignored.

- Hector's Dolphin: Found only in New Zealand waters, where its population is fragmented into several sub-groups. Biggest threat is accidental entanglement in gillnets, but pollution, including persistent chemicals such as DDT and dioxins, may be affecting reproduction rates. - Sapa-AFP

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