sciencetech-blog

comments

From the forest elephants of Africa, to India's tigers and even our own harbour seals, wildlife is losing the battle for survival all over the world.

Exotic mammals such as the magnificent big cats are under the greatest threat, but even here in Britain numbers of once-familiar species have collapsed.

And responsible for this dramatic decline is man. In fact, humankind's ever-growing need for land and resources, coupled with hunting and poaching, has halved the number of wild animals in world in just 40 years, according to a shocking report. The Living Planet Report by WWF and the Zoological Society of London has found that wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970.

The authors compiled data on 10,380 animal populations, including 3,038 different species, as an index to judge how global wildlife is faring as a whole.

It shows that British animals have not escaped the global decline.

The audit, which is published every two years, found that 90 per cent of corn buntings, a bird once often seen perched on fences, have disappeared from our countryside.

Endangered: There are only around 3,200 tigers left in the wild - the predators' numbers have declined by a huge 97 per cent in the last 100 years

Worldwide problem: Fewer than 100,000 forest elephants now remain, as their numbers have dropped by 60 per cent in just 12 years

The number of northern lapwings – another once-familiar sight on farmland – have fallen 60 per cent and grey partridges have halved in number. Harbour seals have declined by 40 per cent in the last decade alone in Orkney and Shetland, killed off by disease and measures to protect salmon farms. British snakes, such as the adder, have plummeted in number as open fields are taken over for housing.

The global picture is worst for freshwater creatures such as amphibians, river fish and mammals, with average population declines of 76 per cent between 1970 and 2010, says the latest data available. Land-dwelling animals declined by 39 per cent over the same period and sea creatures fell 39 per cent, the report found.

The authors said the main threats to wildlife are loss or damage to their habitat and exploitation through hunting and fishing.

Closer to home: animals are dying out on British shores too, including the harbour seal, which has been threatened by disease and salmon farming

Nowhere to live: Britain's birds, like this corn bunting, are also under threat - largely from the loss of bushy field edges for nesting in

They also warned that humans are using resources faster than the planet can provide, cutting down forests too quickly, overfishing and pumping out pollution faster than the world can cope with it.

Professor Ken Norris, director of science at Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: 'The scale of biodiversity loss and damage to the very ecosystems that are essential to our existence is alarming. This damage is not inevitable, but a consequence of the way we choose to live.'

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said: 'The scale of destruction highlighted in this report should be a wake-up call to us all. We all have an interest, and a responsibility, to act to ensure we protect what we all value: a healthy future for both people and nature.'

Under the sea: The threat to our wildlife is not just limited to land animals - the short-nosed common dolphin and leatherback turtle are also dying out

Mr Nussbaum said consumers could reduce their impact on wildlife by choosing products which were sustainable, for example fish with the Marine Stewardship Council and timber with the Forest Stewardship Council certifications.

He said that they could also look at reducing their meat and dairy consumption.

Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at ZSL, said people should think about everything they do, from recycling to putting pressure on political and industry leaders, and getting their children outside to reconnect with nature.