Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 6 december 2017

2 kiwi birds are rare bright spot in grim extinction report

By ELAINE KURTENBACH many wild crops, such as
Associated Press wild wheat, rice and yam,
TOKYO (AP) — Two types face threats from over-
of New Zealand kiwi birds grazing, use of herbicides
are a rare bright spot in a and urbanization. Such
mostly grim assessment of wild plants are crucial food
global species at risk of ex- sources and also play a
tinction. critical role in the genetic
The International Union for diversity of domesticated
the Conservation of Nature food crops.
upgraded the Okarito kiwi Many conservationists view
and the Northern Brown the current era as the “sixth
kiwi from endangered to extinction,” after previous
vulnerable thanks to New ones that wiped out the
Zealand’s progress in con- dinosaurs and other crea-
trolling predators like stoats tures. Much of today’s
and cats. losses of species stem from
But the conservation human factors, which also
group’s latest update of means that human efforts
its Red List of endangered can help improve the situ-
species, issued Tuesday, ation.
mostly reported grave The baiji, a kind of dolphin
threats to animals and native to the Yangtze river
plants due to loss of habitat This undated photo released by International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows in China, is thought to be
and unsustainable farming a Northern brown kiwi in New Zealand. extinct, but some findings
and fisheries practices. Associated Press have raised hopes it might
The group said the Irrawad- tinct in the wild. The IUCN conservation program. it lives. not be. Experts are now
dy dolphin and finless por- describes 11,783 species Behind the numbers are The group said three rep- surveying the river in hopes
poise that roam coastlines as vulnerable, 8,455 as en- life-and-death struggles for tile species on Christmas of a sighting. The kiwi has
of Southeast Asia are now dangered and 5,583 criti- survival as human popula- Island, also in Australia, gained ground thanks to
designated as endan- cally endangered. tions grow and industrial- had gone extinct in the a New Zealand campaign
gered, imperiled by entan- The IUCN is made up of ize and habitats are trans- wild: the Whiptail skink, the to rid its islands of predators
glement in fishing nets and government and non-gov- formed by global warming. Blue-tailed skink and Lister’s such as rats, possums and
other human activities. ernment experts whose sci- Australia’s Western Ringtail gecko. The group said the stoats that have helped
Gillnets used on the Me- entific assessments of the possum has slipped from as yet unexplained losses kill off more than 40 unique
kong and in other major risks to species are subject vulnerable to critically en- of reptiles could result from species of New Zealand
waterways “hang like cur- to independent reviews dangered, the IUCN said, disease or infestations of birds. The IUCN reported
tains of death across the and are provided to help as its population plunged the yellow crazy ant, which its findings in Tokyo to re-
river and entrap everything guide decisions on conser- by 80 percent over the past is listed by the IUCN and flect support from Toyota
in the stream,” said Craig vation efforts. The Red List, decade. Global Invasive Species Motor Corp., which helps
Hilton-Taylor, head of the which it calls a “Barometer Once widespread in pep- Database as one of the fund species assessments. It
Red List’s global species of Life,” identifies which lo- permint and eucalyptus 100 worst invasive species. said a third of 46 newly as-
program. cal species are at risk of ex- forests of Western Austra- The creature has wreaked sessed endemic species of
Some 91,523 out of nearly tinction. lia, it now has only a few havoc on Christmas Island, lizards and snakes in Japan
1.9 million described spe- The organization aims to fragmented habitats and is devouring the famous en- were threatened by factors
cies have been assessed increase the number of as- prone to heat stress at tem- demic red crabs that were such as habitat loss, collec-
for the Red List, of which sessed species to 160,000, peratures above 35 C (95 a key part of its ecosystem. tion for pet stores and inva-
25,821 are threatened, said Jane Smart, global F) that are becoming in- Apart from many animal sive species such as Indian
866 are extinct and 69 ex- director of its biodiversity creasingly common where species, the IUCN said peacocks.q