Nearly 50,000 animal and plant species are at risk of extinction

More than 45,000 species are currently threatened with extinction, up 1,000 from 2023, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced Thursday, and the survival of the Iberian lynx is being hailed as good news.

This Thursday, the IUCN published an updated version of its Red List of Threatened Species, which now includes data on a total of 163,040 animal and plant species, 6,000 more than last year.

The Copiapoa cactus from the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Borneo elephant from Brunei and the giant lizard from Gran Canaria in Spain are among the most threatened species, according to the IUCN.

The international conservation organization blames climate change pressures, invasive species and human activities such as social media trends.

For example, Copiapoa cacti are sought after as ornamental plants, fueling an illegal trade that has flourished on social media, where enthusiasts and traders display and sell the plants.

The Red List update shows that 82% of these cactus species are now at risk of extinction, up 27 percentage points from 2023.

According to the organization, smugglers and poachers have gained greater access to plant habitats thanks to road expansion and housing construction in the Atacama region.

The report released today also highlights that the Bornean Asian elephant is critically endangered, with only around 1,000 of the animals estimated to remain in the wild.

The population has declined over the past 75 years, largely due to extensive deforestation that has destroyed much of the elephants’ habitat.

The species is also threatened by conflict with humans, habitat loss due to agriculture and plantation forests, mining and infrastructure development, poaching, exposure to agrochemicals and road accidents, according to the IUCN.

The list also found a decline in the numbers of endemic reptiles in the Canary Islands and Ibiza due to aggressive snakes.

However, the IUCN recalls the conservation efforts that allowed the Iberian lynx to recover after it was close to extinction.

The number of adult Iberian lynxes has increased tenfold this century and the animal is no longer classified as “at risk” but as a “vulnerable” species on the Red List.

“Conservation efforts have allowed the species to recover from near extinction, with an exponential increase in its population, rising from 62 adults in 2001 to 648 in 2022,” IUCN said.

According to the organization, the total population of Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), including juveniles and adults, is estimated at more than 2,000 individuals.

Since 2010, more than 400 Iberian lynxes have been reintroduced into parts of Portugal and Spain, and the animal now covers at least 3,320 square kilometers, up from 449 square kilometers in 2005. According to the 2023 census carried out by the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forestry (ICNF), there are 191 Iberian lynx in Portugal.