THE AFRICAN BLACK RHINOCEROS HAS DISAPPEARED

Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) brings bad news: the West African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) it has been officially declared extinct. The reason: overhunting to sell their horns on the black market. The black rhino joins the long list of creatures, from the Tasmanian tiger to the Arabian gazelle or a wallaby Grey, who will no tread our planet.

In the renovated Red List also it appears as "possibly extinct" other rhino, white rhino Central Africa (northern white rhinoceros). And experts warn that the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) could follow suit. "For both the western black rhinoceros and the northern white rhino, the situation could have been very different from the suggested conservation measures have been implemented," lamented Simon Stuart, Chair of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN.

The organization has also indicated that, despite conservation programs, 25% of mammals is currently endangered.

The data also shed good news, as some conservation efforts have already borne fruit, including those made to protect the subspecies of white rhino Ceratotherium simum simum, which has grown from a population of less than 100 at the end of the nineteenth century, a wild population estimated at more than 20,000. Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus) is another success story that enhances its status from "critically endangered" to "endangered."

With more than 61,000 species examined, the IUCN Red List has become a true "barometer of life", as nicknamed renowned experts in the journal Science in 2010.

Plants also endangered

While plants are an essential resource for human welfare and a critical component of the habitats of wildlife, you still underrepresented in the IUCN Red List. Among the current efforts to increase this knowledge include the examination of all conifers. The results so far reveal some disturbing trends. The Chinese cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis), for example, previously spread throughout China and Viet Nam, has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Habitat loss due to the expansion of agriculture has been the main reason for its decline, and China seems to have no traces of wild plants. In Vietnam, there are very few trees that produce viable seeds, which means that this species is heading towards extinction in the wild.

Another example, Taxus contorta, which is used to produce Taxol, a chemotherapy drug for cancer, has moved from Vulnerable to Endangered due to over-exploitation for medicinal use and uncontrolled harvesting for firewood and fodder. Many other species of tropical plants are also at risk. Most plants endemic flowers of the Seychelles have also been evaluated and current studies show that, of the 79 species, 77% are endangered.