20% of Australian Species Face Extinction

It is a bit ironic how much attention Japanese whaling of non-endangered whales gets every year when in Australia one in five native species are facing extinction according to this report:

ONE in five species of Australian mammals are at risk of extinction, a report has found.

Of the 388 species of mammals found naturally in Australia, 78 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or extinct in the wild.

In addition, nearly 14 per cent of amphibians, five per cent of reptiles and six per cent of birds are at risk.

The figures are included in a new report, The Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World, released by federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett today.

Mr Garrett said the report was the only one in the world to document the world’s 1,899,587 known plant and animal species.  [AAP]