Postcards from the Planet » camouflage http://www.postcardsfromtheplanet.com Science News (and more) from Your Traveling Reporters Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:05:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 More than 25% of the world’s mammals are at risk http://www.postcardsfromtheplanet.com/2008/10/17/more-than-25-of-the-worlds-mammals-are-at-risk/ http://www.postcardsfromtheplanet.com/2008/10/17/more-than-25-of-the-worlds-mammals-are-at-risk/#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:09:39 +0000 Rosalind http://www.postcardsfromtheplanet.com/?p=58 A family of elephants in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park--photo by Jay Torborg

A family of elephants in Tanzania: photo by Jay Torborg

On October 10, the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) released a shocking report. This year’s update of the Red List of Endangered Species shows that more than a quarter of the world’s mammal species are at risk of extinction.

The IUCN Red List report summary says: “The new study to assess the world’s mammals shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500. But the results also show conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild.”

To read more about the report, go to Red List

These two photos from our Serengeti trip are by Jay Torborg, a wildlife and underwater photographer who lives in Sammamish, Washington–and who is married to Diana.

Serengeti cheetah surveys the tall grassland--photo by Jay Torborg

Serengeti cheetah surveys the tall grassland: photo by Jay Torborg

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