Current News

In October 2008, the IUCN Red List web site was given a brand new look. The new site has more functionality than ever before. This also means that the site has more detailed search pages that allow increased flexibility in the searches that can be carried out, introduces the ability to store searches for future use or to share search results with others, and allows users to download range data for mammals and amphibians.

In order to help users to navigate their way through the wider range of functions on the web site, a set of instructions have been developed (The Users’ Guide to the IUCN Red List web site. Version 1.0 (March 2009)) and this document is now available to download from the link below (PDF, 2.47 MB). The document contains several sections, providing guidance on how to search the web site, how to navigate through the species fact sheets, how to save searches and export data from the site, and where to find and download GIS data for amphibians and mammals. Use the index to access the section you want (just click on the topic in the index).

A video tutorial on how to search the IUCN Red List web site is also available (follow the link below).

Links:

Two decades after the sensational discovery of a new ungulate species called the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), this rare animal remains as mysterious and elusive as ever. The Saola Working Group (SWG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) warn that the species is sliding towards extinction because of intensive hunting pressure and poor reserve management.  

A cousin of cattle but resembling an antelope in appearance, the Saola was discovered in 1992 by a joint team from Vietnam’s Ministry of Forestry and WWF surveying the forests of Vu Quang, near Vietnam's border with Laos. The team found a skull with unusual long, straight horns in a hunter's home and knew it was something extraordinary. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years, and one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries of the 20th century.

The difficulty in detecting the animal has prevented scientists from making a precise population estimate. “If things are good, there may be a couple of hundred Saola out there,” says William Robichaud, Coordinator of the IUCN Saola Working Group. “If things are bad, the population could now be down in the tens.” 

Twenty years later, little is still known about the Saola’s ecology or behaviour. In 2010, villagers in the central Laos province of Bolikhamxay captured a Saola, but the animal died several days later. Prior to that, the last confirmed record of a Saola in the wild was in 1999 from camera-trap photos in Bolikhamxay. 

While development is encroaching on the Saola’s forest habitat, the greatest threat comes from illegal hunting. Saola are caught in wire snares set by hunters to catch other animals, such as Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor), Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi) and civets, which are largely destined for the lucrative wildlife trade driven by traditional medicine demand in China and restaurant and food markets in Vietnam and Laos. Since the discovery of the Saola, Vietnam and Laos have established a network of protected areas in the animal’s core range and some reserves are pursuing innovative approaches to tackle rampant poaching. In the Saola Nature Reserve in Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue Province, a new approach to forest guard co-management is delivering positive results. Since February 2011, the team of forest guards patrolling the reserve have removed more than 12,500 snares and close to 200 illegal hunting and logging camps.

“Saola are extremely secretive and very seldom seen,” says Nick Cox, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong’s Species Programme. “While they inhabit a very restricted range, there is still no reported sighting of a Saola in the wild by a scientist, and the handful of Saola that have been taken into captivity have not survived.”

The Saola is an icon for biodiversity in the Annamite mountain range that runs along the border of Vietnam and Laos. This biodiversity hotspot boasts an incredible diversity of rare species, with many found nowhere else on the planet. In addition to the discovery of the Saola, two new species of deer, the Large-antlered Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) and the Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), were uncovered in the Annamite’s rugged, evergreen forests in 1994 and 1997 respectively. Efforts to save the Saola have reached a greater level of urgency since another of Vietnam's iconic species, the Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus), was confirmed extinct in 2011 after the battle to save the last individual was lost to poachers.

“If hunting levels can be significantly reduced, we are optimistic about the species' prospects,” says Chris Hallam, WCS-Laos’ Conservation Planning Advisor. “This will require funds for more patrol boots on the ground in Saola areas, developing positive incentives for its conservation, and ultimately reducing consumer demand for wildlife meat and products. The Saola has made it to its twentieth anniversary, but it won’t have many more anniversaries unless urgent action is taken.”

Issues involving species survival and conservation will be discussed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 15 September 2012.

Related Links:

ElephantDatabase.org, a joint project of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) and Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG), is a new site where the latest information from elephant surveys across Africa and Asia is easily accessible.

Clear, colourful and easy to understand maps show where African and Asian elephants are known to occur and where they might also possibly occur. Those who want more detailed information about African and Asian elephant distribution and abundance can also explore historical data, including those in previous African Elephant Status Reports and current data from frequently updated survey submissions.

A newly discovered population of the Critically Endangered glassfrog species Centrolene heloderma is only located meters away from one of the two major oil pipelines of Ecuador, the OCP (Heavy Crude Oilpipe). For safety reasons, constant cutting and clearing is required around the pipeline; this job is performed by personnel from Reserva Las Gralarias to ensure that the habitat of C. heloderma is not altered.

May 12th – 13th 2012 is World Migratory Bird Day. This year’s theme is ‘Migratory birds and people - together through time’ and people all over the world will be celebrating migratory birds and the special relationship humans share with them.

Humans have a long relationship with birds, using them as food, for sending messages and as symbols of power or prestige. Migratory birds connect continents, cultures and people as they display amazing endurance as their long distance journeys.

Migrating birds are particularly vulnerable because they rely on a number of habitats as they prepare for and make their migrations. Human activities are now threatening their survival as the construction of buildings, power lines and wind turbines can act as barriers that make migrations more difficult for the birds.

The second SOS Call for Proposals has just opened. Non-governmental organisations (including IUCN members), community groups, and other civil society organisations are welcome to apply for an SOS grant for one of the following Strategic Directions:

• Threatened tropical terrestrial Asian vertebrates
• Threatened small marine mammals
• Threatened cycads
• Threatened freshwater African animals

Since the age of 12, Rodrigo Medellín has had a passion for bats and other animals. As bats lack widespread appeal he promotes them through research and strong conservation education programmes with his team, and tries to make people aware of their value. In recognition of this dedication, Rodrigo won a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2008, allowing him and his team to do more to protect bats in Mexico.

Bats have vital roles in healthy ecosystems pollinating flowers, dispersing seeds and eating insect pests. Unfortunately there is a common misconception that these animals are disease-carrying, blood-drinking creatures that should be feared. In reality attacks by bats on humans are rare and their positive contributions should be valued more highly.

In 1994, Rodrigo founded the Program for the Conservation of Bats of Mexico in partnership with the University of Mexico, and Bat Conservation International. Farmers often mistake harmless bats for the vampire bats that prey on their cattle. To avoid unnecessary killings, the programme teaches vampire-bat control and presents more positive images of bats and their usefulness through community workshops and nationwide media exposure.

An award winning radio show aimed mainly at children, Adventures in Flight, has also reached millions of listeners with a series of short programmes about bat biology and conservation.

The power of educating children was highlighted in 1996 when rumours began to circulate that “chupacabras”, mythical, unidentified livestock-killing creatures that usually turn out to be coyotes with a bad case of mange, were hiding in the famous Cueva de la Boca caves, home to the world’s largest Mexican Free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) population.

Locals threatened to burn the cave until the children, who had recently been visited by Rodrigo and his team, explained that the bats had benefits and should be protected. The cave and the bats, which can eat up to 12 tonnes of insects each night, are still protected today.

Recently, success has also been achieved for the Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), a migratory pollinator listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. After 18 years of research and conservation work, this species will soon be the first Mexican mammal to leave the federal list of endangered species.

The strategy used by Rodrigo and his team has been used to develop similar initiatives in Bolivia, Costa Rica and Guatemala to good success and now the Latin American Network for Bat Conservation has been established, which is the largest organization of its kind worldwide.

Today, Rodrigo continues to use his passion and commitment to promote the conservation of all of Mexico’s wildlife, changing negative opinions into positive ones.

The Pacific is blessed with amazing ecosystems and species diversity, but scientists say that there is still not enough known about species from this region to adequately inform conservation efforts for them. 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contains global assessments for 4907 species from the Pacific Islands. This figure is actually very small and represents only about 5% of the estimated number of known species for the region.

Of this portion of species assessed by the Red List, many are listed as ‘Data Deficient’, meaning that there is simply not enough information to define their conservation status. They could be threatened, but we cannot know the causes or status of the risks they face.

According to Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission "The IUCN Red List is a great tool but you have to understand that it is used to assess species that are already reasonably wellknown,”

So, although 20% of the the species assessed by IUCN are at risk of extinction, there are likely to be many more threatened species which currently fit into the Data Deficient category, and many more that are yet to be assessed. Every year, new species are being discovered even as others are being lost.

"We did a review of all Pacific Islands and Territories, excluding Australia and New Zealand, species listed on the 2008 IUCN Red List and we found that vertebrate groups are the most well-known of all groups in the Pacific, but huge gaps exist in our knowledge of plants and invertebrates, and for species found in marine and freshwater environments," says Helen Pippard, Species Programme Officer at IUCN Oceania Regional Office.

“The IUCN Red List assesses species at the global level - in the Pacific, we are working towards completing assessments at the regional level, and these accounts will be updated periodically to allow monitoring of our biodiversity and determination of the success of conservation initiatives in place".

In the race to halt extinction, the 193 signatory nations to the Convention on Biological Diversity are doing their utmost to reverse the current extinction rates. However, in a vast region like the Pacific, governments are struggling to implement national biodiversity strategies and conservation plans. Scientists and conservation practitioners are juggling with the urgency to save species, and the need to improve our knowledge of the status and ecology of Pacific Island species.

"We have a growing number of researchers and scientists working for species conservation in the region and it is important that everyone pulls together and does not operate in isolation," says Taholo Kami, Regional Director of IUCN Oceania Regional Office. "This is the reason for the Pacific Islands Species Forum - to bring everyone together, look at what research is going on and prioritize future actions - to address existing knowledge gaps".

"Biodiversity is declining - that is the bottom line, but we also don't know enough in the Pacific to effectively protect and save many of our species," says Stuart.

Related links:

Once described as possibly the most abundant large bird of prey in the world, the Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) has suffered a population decline of more than 99.9% in just 15 years. According to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, 10 of the world’s 23 vulture species are threatened with extinction, with the most rapid declines occurring in Asia. As scavengers, vultures have an important ecological role and these population declines have serious consequences for humans and the environment.

Between 1992 and 2007, a large-scale decline in vulture numbers was observed across Asia and the White-rumped Vulture was not the only victim. Two other species, the Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) and the Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), both Critically Endangered, suffered a 97% decline in population numbers. These declines have been directly attributed to the veterinary use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, ingested by vultures that ate carcasses of cattle that had recently been treated with the drug.

Diclofenac causes renal failure and death for vultures. Due to the strength of the drug and the tendency of vultures to feed in large groups, research has shown that just one in 760 livestock carcasses needs to contain diclofenac to cause the population decline that has been observed. Despite a manufacturing ban in Pakistan, Nepal and India and a ban on its sale and veterinary use in India, there are concerns that this drug is still affecting vulture populations in Asia.

“The dramatic decline of vultures in South Asia highlights that we can never be complacent about conservation, even when it comes to ‘common’ species”, said Dr Scott Perkin, Head of IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Programme, Asia. “The fortunes of a particular species, or even an entire group of species, can change for the worse in a remarkably short period of time. Fortunately, in this case, a combination of vigilance, strong science, political commitment and the dedicated efforts of local and international organizations, including many IUCN Members, means that there is still hope that vultures may one day return to the skies of Asia.”

Despite their mixed reputation vultures provide vital ecosystem services. Their most important role is removing carcasses of animals that would otherwise be left to rot. This waste removal service reduces the possibility of a carcass becoming a hazard to human health and controls the populations of disease-carrying scavengers such as feral dogs and rats. In India, the decline of vultures has seen an increase in the numbers of feral dogs and with it, a higher incidence of dog bites and rabies.

The loss of vultures is also having a social and cultural impact in South Asia. An ancient custom known as sky burial, where the human dead are left in ‘towers of silence’ or on stone pillars at the tops of hills for vultures and other scavengers, is practised by the Zoroastrian-Parsi community in India and Pakistan and by Tibetan Buddhists, but the tradition is now being negatively impacted by the decline in vultures.

However, there is a solution. In addition to calling for an end to the use of diclofenac and its sale in multi-dose vials, IUCN is working with the Governments of South Asia and a consortium of organizations known as ‘SAVE’ (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction), which is also supported by SOS – Save Our Species,  to establish 100 kilometer radius ‘Vulture Safe Zones’ clear of diclofenac and other potentially dangerous veterinary painkillers. This involves awareness work at all levels, from Government officials, vets and local farmers. Once carcasses have tested negative to the drugs and an area is declared safe, birds from one of the region’s conservation breeding programmes, which have now successfully bred all three Gyps species, can potentially be released into the area in the future.

“Thankfully, there is at least one safe alternative drug available to the vets, which is already being made by more than 40 different companies in South Asia,” said Chris Bowden, the SAVE Programme Manager and Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Vulture Specialist Group. “If this is fully adopted for veterinary practice, then there will be a real prospect for releasing the captive birds back to a safe environment and a recovery of Asian vulture populations.”

A workshop involving senior Government representatives and scientists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan as well as international experts and community leaders will be held in Delhi in early May 2012. Amongst other items, the workshop will consider the latest vulture population trends in South Asia and emerging conservation issues. It is hoped that the workshop will lead to a regional declaration on vulture conservation and that it will also catalyze enhanced collaboration among the range states, including the development of a regional vulture project.