The Friends of Charles Darwin

The number of threatened species on the planet is increasing at unprecedented rates across almost all major animal groups, according to the most comprehensive evaluation of the world’s biodiversity ever undertaken. A total of 15,568 species now face extinction, according to the 2004 Red List of Threatened Species published on Wednesday by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). This represents a rise of 3300 species compared to the 2003 list. One in three amphibians and almost half of all freshwater turtles are now threatened, as well as one in eight birds and a quarter of known mammals.