Almost 10% of major species face threat of extinction

ALMOST 10% of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are in danger of extinction due to climate change and other factors, according to a report released yesterday.

The Number of Living Species in Australia and the World study found that 0.9% of the world’s 1.9 million classified species were at threat, including 9.2% of major vertebrate species.

Australia’s government-funded biological resources study, the world’s only census of animal and plant life, found that 20.8% of mammals were endangered, as were 12.2% of birds and 29.2% of amphibians.