The study published in the Scientific Review shows that over 40% of insect species are threatened worldwide.

The State’s bid to save the corncrake from national extinction suffered a further blow last year as the numbers of calling males fell to 140.

The great yellow bumblebee and the Atlantic salmon are among Ireland’s most endangered species.

One third of the 98 bee species in Ireland are threatened with extinction while three-quarters of the country’s wild plants require insect pollinators.

Legal trade in rhinoceros horns could save the species from extinction — or hasten their demise, says Rachel Nuwer.

The 45-year-old actress joined a team including experts from Wilderness Safaris as they brought the white rhinoceros and her calf to safety from South Africa's Timbavati Game Reserve to Botswana, where there is less chance of poaching.

The number of animals and plants at risk of extinction rose in 2015 despite government pledges to improve protection, with species under threat ranging from lions in West Africa to orchids in Asia, a study showed.

Humans have already triggered the start of Earth’s sixth mass extinction, thereby threatening their own future as a species, a study has claimed.

Sharks, rays, and many other components of marine biodiversity are struggling to withstand human pressures, writes Derek Tittensor

Almost one in 10 of Europe’s bee species is facing extinction, conservation experts have warned.