ARKive e-news alert

A reassessment of our closest relatives has revealed a grim picture. Despite the increased awareness of the plight of the orang-utans, the Sumatran orang-utan remains in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean orang-utan in the Endangered category. Both of these magnificent apes continue to be threatened by habitat loss, due to logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations.

Worse still, the western gorilla has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered after the discovery that the main subspecies, the western lowland gorilla, has been decimated by the commercial bushmeat trade and Ebola virus.

The baiji , or Yangtze River dolphin, is now listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) after an intensive search last November and December failed to find a single individual in the highly polluted Yangtze River. The less well known gharial , of India and Nepal, has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered as a result of human encroachment on its habitat. The construction of dams, irrigation projects and sand mining, has had a devastating impact on this remarkable reptile, with its population recently declining by half.

The great hammerhead shark and humpback grouper were assessed in 2000, but insufficient data was available at that time to determine the level of threat they faced. Since then, further information has become available, unfortunately revealing the sad truth that both are now threatened with extinction. The great hammerhead shark, threatened by accidental by-catch and the shark fin industry, is now classified as Endangered, whilst the humpback grouper is now classified as Vulnerable, as a result of habitat degradation and over-exploitation.

Through concerted conservation effort, it is possible to slow the loss of biodiversity. However this year, only one species has moved to a lower category of threat. The previously Critically Endangered Mauritius parakeet has been down-graded to Endangered, a result of successful conservation action, including close monitoring of nesting sites and supplementary feeding, combined with a captive breeding and release programme. This highlights the need for increased support and action, from the general public, private sector, governments and policy makers, to help the efforts of the thousands of passionate people already working to preserve the diversity of life.

ARKive is collaborating closely with IUCN - researching and supplying the films and photographs of threatened species for use in the media. In newspapers and on television around the world this week, images sourced and provided by ARKive will be bringing the Red List to life. As much of our planet's wonderfully rich biodiversity edges ever closer to the brink of extinction, it is essential that organizations such as IUCN and ARKive continue to raise public awareness of the impact man is having upon life on Earth. ARKive has now audio-visually profiled some 2,500 of the world's threatened species and subspecies to help inspire in people a passion for wildlife and the conservation of our natural world. In addition, the images that ARKive holds of species that have already become extinct act as a powerful reminder of what could be lost forever should we sit back and do nothing.