Over 17,000 species threatened by extinction

These results are just the tip of the iceberg and1,895 amphibian species could soon disappear in the wild, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said recently. The Switzerland-based group surveyed 47,677 animals and plants for this year's "Red List" of endangered species, determining that 17,291 of them are at risk of extinction. More than one in five of all known mammals, over a quarter of reptiles and 70 percent of plants are under threat, according to the survey, over 2,800 new species compared with 2008 are under threat. The Red List already includes species such as the tiger, of which only 3,200 are thought to exist in the wild and whose habitat in Asia is steadily shrinking due to encroachment by humans.

Governments and international conservation bodies use the list as guidance when deciding which species to place under legal protection. The group added 3,120 freshwater fishes and found 1,147 of them threatened with extinction. Some amphibians have become or are going to be extinct before they are even discovered announced IUCN.