Animal winners and losers in the spotlight: Once again, the environmental organization WWF draws attention to the “catastrophic escalation of global species extinction” with its annual balance sheet. Representing thousands of endangered animals, the WWF is highlighting a few species that have fared badly in the past year. Using examples of success, however, the conservationists also show that working to preserve biodiversity is worthwhile.
Loss of habitat, exploitation and climate change: For the biodiversity of the earth, humans are the greatest catastrophe since the extinction wave at the end of the dinosaur era, writes the WWF. According to the environmental protection organization, last year made this clear again, because the number of species considered threatened has increased again: of the more than 142,500 animal and plant species recorded in the International Red List, over 40,000 are now in threat categories. “Species protection is no longer just about eliminating an environmental problem,” says Eberhard Brandes from WWF Germany. “If the earth is sick, so will the people. Because we are dependent on vital ecosystems and biodiversity for our own safe and healthy life – for example in the fight against the climate crisis ”. In order to give the threatening trend “faces”, the WWF is now highlighting some of the sad examples of the year 2021.
Losers in view
Forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis): Last year, the little cousins of the African elephant were classified for the first time in the “critically endangered” category. This is the result of a drastic decline over the past 31 years: stocks plummeted by more than 86 percent. As the WWF emphasizes, the loss of the pachyderms also has a far-reaching significance: They are the “gardeners of the forest” and thus play a decisive role for ecosystems and ultimately also for climate protection.
Sharks and rays: a third of all species of these cartilaginous fish have been classified as threatened in the International Red List since last year. Overfishing is considered to be the main cause of the decline in stocks, but also habitat loss and climate change are troubling these ecologically important predators of the seas.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus): As the most impressive symbol of the threats posed by climate change, the WWF is once again putting the white celebrities of the north in the spotlight. As new data have made clear, global warming in their arctic habitat is three times as fast as the global average. In 2035, the Arctic Ocean could completely lose its ice for the first time in summer. Since it is literally a livelihood for the polar bears, most populations could collapse by 2100.
Gray crane (Grus grus): Even earlier, our largest native bird would almost have died out in Germany – after successes in the meantime, the future for the crane looks again bleak: in 2021 too few young birds grew up in Germany to secure the population in the long term. The reason: The death of insects leads to food shortages for the chicks and due to climate change, breeding areas in Germany are drying out more and more frequently.
European tree frog (Hyla arborea): The green amphibian known as the “weather frog” is representative of the decline of amphibians. According to the Red List Germany 2021, every second native amphibian species is endangered. Due to the expansion of the cultural landscape, they are losing their homes in many places and roads and highways become death traps. Only the consistent protection of the last retreats of these species can preserve them in the future.
Noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis): According to a current WWF report, the largest mussel living in the Mediterranean, up to 90 centimeters, has almost completely disappeared in some European coastal regions. The cause is a parasite that spreads with warm currents. In the course of climate change, the loss could therefore continue in other areas of the Mediterranean, so the fear.
Cod and Co: The last year has shown that numerous fish species are going downhill. In the western Baltic Sea, for example, there was a real cod apocalypse. Apparently the tipping point was exceeded after this fish can no longer recover due to years of overfishing and the effects of the climate. Migratory fish species also fared badly. It became clear: Due to the various man-made impairments such as hydropower plants, the populations of European migratory fish have collapsed by 93 percent since 1970.
Bright spots for 2021
Despite the gloomy overall picture, there were also successes in the fight against the loss of animal species, as the WWF reports in its annual balance sheet.
Example Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus): There are signs of a successful comeback for the almost extinct cats. A current census showed that the population in Spain and Portugal has increased more than tenfold over the past 18 years to 1111 animals. Its relative, the Eurasian lynx, is also developing very promisingly: there are now around 130 adults and 59 young animals again living in Germany.
Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis): The longstanding efforts to protect the impressive animals in Nepal seem to have paid off. The population has grown by 16 percent compared to the last estimate in 2015 and has almost doubled since the first census in 2005. In the past, the Indian rhinos fell victim to habitat loss and hunting for their horn.
Great Bustard (Otis tarda): The populations of this bird, which weighs up to 17 kilograms but can still fly, are at their highest level in 40 years: in 2021, 347 animals could be counted in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt. This gives hope for a survival of the species that has been extinct or is acutely threatened by intensive agriculture in many countries.
Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis): In September 2021, a research team made a sensational find: In eastern Cambodia, they came across eight young Siamese crocodiles. The special thing about it is that no descendants of these endangered freshwater crocodiles have been known from this region for over ten years.
Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus): For thirty years animal rights activists have been trying to get the majestic birds of prey to make a comeback in the Alpine region in an international resettlement program. 2021 was a decidedly successful year: Six young vultures were successfully released into the wild. This means that around 300 bearded vultures are flying through the mountainous landscapes again.
With these positive examples, the WWF wants to make it clear that there are opportunities for species protection if people work consistently: “If we implement effective nature conservation measures, we can protect plants, animals and, ultimately, the climate,” says Brandes in conclusion.
Source: WWF World Wide Fund For Nature