Accelerating disappearance of endangered species

The IUCN Red List update shows that 46,300 species are threatened with extinction globally, representing 28% of the species assessed. Update: Northern white rhinoceros: 2 females left, functionally extinct due to poaching and habitat loss; Gulf of California porpoise: fewer than 10 left in the Gulf of California, Mexico, threatened by illegal gillnetting; leatherback turtles: fewer than 10 left, mainly due to the ingestion of marine plastics and the destruction of their nesting grounds. The crisis in freshwater ecosystems is particularly acute, with the extinction of the baiji dolphin demonstrating that human activities are destroying biodiversity at “1,000 times the natural rate”.