New Red List of Threatened species paints bleak picture of extinction

link from newscientist

another sad news for conservationists. I must say though I always wonder why they never put new species found data together with species that are losing it...

excerpted from article text copyright of newscientist
"Two out of every five species on the planet that have been assessed by scientists face extinction, according to the latest World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Overall, 16,119 animal and plant species are in danger of extinction, including 1 in 8 birds, 1 in 4 mammals and 1 in 3 amphibian species. Since records began, 784 species have been declared extinct. From the poles to the deserts, “biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down,” says IUCN director-general Achim Steiner."