Habitat loss and degradation affect 40 percent of the world's mammals. It is most extreme in Central and South America, west, east and central Africa, Madagascar, and in south and Southeast Asia. Over harvesting is wiping out larger mammals, especially in Southeast Asia, but also in parts of Africa and South America.
The Grey-faced Sengi or Elephant-shrew (Rhynchocyon udzungwensis) is only known from two forests in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, both of which are protected but vulnerable to fires. The species was first described this year and has been placed in the vulnerable category.
In order to improve the current state of these mammals, Smith suggests a few actions that could help immediately.
"Curtail the trade of endangered species," he said. "It would do an amazing amount of good for stabilizing the situation in Southeast Asia, which is a biodiversity hot spot. There also is so much needless habitat loss. Trees from too many lush tropical forests end up as coffee tables or in high-end furniture."
"Our results paint a bleak picture of the global status of mammals worldwide," the authors of the Science article state. "Yet, more than simply reporting on the depressing status of the world's mammals, these Red List data can and should be used to inform strategies for addressing this crisis, for example, to identify priority species and
|Contact: Skip Derra|
Arizona State University