94 percent of the species of lemurs are about to disappear, as stated in the latest edition of the Red List of endangered species, the update has been published this week by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN ).
Among them is Berthe’s mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae), considered the smallest primate in the world. It measures about 10 centimeters and weighs around 30 grams, undoubtedly a media claim to try to save both this and the rest of the species of this group of vertebrates, victims mainly of hunting and the destruction of habitat in the tropical forests of Madagascar.
Index
Deforestation and hunting
The indigenous population is mired in poverty and, in fact, lemurs are part of their diet, to which we must also add indiscriminate felling of trees. Only by joining forces could this vicious circle that threatens lemurs be broken. IUCN experts say there is “still hope” if researchers, local people and politicians work together.
The challenge is significant: of the 101 current femur species, 22 are critically endangered, 48 in the “endangered” category and 20 are classified as “vulnerable.”
In this latest update of the IUCN Red List, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, the inclusion of almost 80 percent of the species of dancing orchids, popular ornamental plants in danger of extinction due to collection in their natural environment and the destruction of their habitat. Among others, Myrmecophila thomsoniana, a symbolic flower of the Cayman Islands, is “on the verge of extinction.”
The Japanese eel is also “endangered”, while the Diplazium laffanianum fern has been reported as extinct in its natural environment, the Bermuda Islands, where it was last seen in 1905. Finally, the Acanthobrama telavivensis, a sea bream Nothing in Israeli waters has responded positively to a successful conservation program.
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