Species Disappearing At An Excellerated Rate

It is no surprise to anyone that more and more of the world's animal species are going extint but they are doing so at a rate that is faster than in the past. According to The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (I.U.C.N.) They estimate that about 20% of the worlds mammals are now threatened with extinction and that within the next few years the figure could rise to almost 40%. They believe that 1/5th of all mammals, 1/7th of all birds, and 1/3rd of all amphibians are all threatened in a serious way with extinction in the next several years. Their research covered a five year span and cullled data from over 1700 scientists around the world to shape their findings and conclusions. They believe that almost 1200 species are at risk to some degree or other but that about 200 of those are seriously at risk and they consider them critically endangered. The biggest reasons according to the I.U.C.N. is the loss of habitat due to the encroachment of man and also to a lesser degree hunting.