Hi everyone,
According to this report the Sixth Mass Extinction seems to be underway.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/26/world/wild-animals-disappear-report-wwf/**********
More than two thirds of the world's wildlife could be gone by the end of the decade if action isn't taken soon, a new report from the World Wildlife Fund revealed on Thursday.
Since 1970, there has already been a 58% overall decline in the numbers of fish, mammals, birds and reptiles worldwide, according to the WWF's latest bi-annual Living Planet Index.
If accurate, that means wildlife across the globe is vanishing at a rate of 2% a year.
"This is definitely human impact, we're in the sixth mass extinction. There's only been five before this and we're definitely in the sixth," WWF conservation scientist Martin Taylor told CNn.
The report was compiled by monitoring trends in 14,152 populations of 3,706 different species of vertebrates, including fish, mammals and birds, across the world.
Anthony Barnosky, Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve executive director, said it was important to note the report said two thirds of individual animals would disappear, not two thirds of species.
"I don't think I would quibble with the trend they're pointing out. We're losing individuals of species and geographic ranges at a really rapid rate," he said.
"If you keep that up, extinction of lots of species is inevitable."
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For information.
Cheers.
Sriram
