Wildlife experts have warned that giraffes are now extinct in at least seven countries.&nbsp;

According to a report, there are only 100,000 of these beautiful creatures left on the African continent.&nbsp;

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed giraffes under the 'vulnerable' species category.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-steps-into-to-save-two-endangered-bird-species-281647">Supreme Court steps into to save two endangered bird species</a>

In the last 30 years, the species has seen a decline of a whopping 40 per cent in its population.&nbsp;

While the Nubian and the Kordofan species of giraffes are listed as "Critically Endangered", the reticulated and the Masai giraffe are ''Endangered''.

Giraffes are usually around six-metre tall on average and are herbivores. These were originally found in over 20 African nations but are now extinct in seven nations - &nbsp;Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal.

Some of the prime factors contributing to the decline of the giraffe population include poaching, trade for meat, skins, tails, illegal encroachment and habitat loss and degradation fuelled by wildfire.&nbsp;

Wildlife experts have warned that giraffes are now extinct in at least seven countries. According to a report, there are only 100,000 of these beautiful creatures left on the African continent.

Wildlife experts have warned that giraffes are now extinct in at least seven countries. According to a report, there are only 100,000 of these beautiful creatures left on the African continent. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed giraffes under the 'vulnerable' species category. Also read: Supreme Court steps into to save two endangered bird species In the last 30 years, the species has seen a decline of a whopping 40 per cent in its population. While the Nubian and the Kordofan species of giraffes are listed as "Critically Endangered", the reticulated and the Masai giraffe are ''Endangered''. Giraffes are usually around six-metre tall on average and are herbivores. These were originally found in over 20 African nations but are now extinct in seven nations - Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal. Some of the prime factors contributing to the decline of the giraffe population include poaching, trade for meat, skins, tails, illegal encroachment and habitat loss and degradation fuelled by wildfire.

Giraffes extinct in at least 7 African countries, listed as 'vulnerable' 

Unbridled consumption has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/rising-mercury-levels-in-india-posing-threat-to-indias-wildlife--138386">decimated global wildlife</a>, triggered a mass extinction and exhausted Earth's capacity to accommodate humanity's expanding appetites, the conservation group WWF warned Tuesday.

From 1970 to 2014, 60 percent of all animals with a backbone -- fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals -- were <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/at-least-23-asiatic-lions-die-in-gir-forest-five-from-rare-virus-169713">wiped out</a> by human activity, according to WWF's "Living Planet" report, based on an ongoing survey of more than 4,000 species spread over 16,700 populations scattered across the globe.

"The situation is really bad, and it keeps getting worse," WWF International director general Marco Lambertini told AFP.

"The only good news is that we know exactly what is happening."

For freshwater fauna, the decline in population over the 44 years monitored was a staggering 80 percent. Regionally, Latin America was hit hardest, seeing a nearly 90 percent loss of wildlife over the same period.

Another dataset confirmed the depth of an unfolding mass extinction event, only the sixth in the last half-billion years.&nbsp;

Depending on which of Earth's lifeforms are included, the current rate of species loss is 100 to 1,000 times higher than only a few hundred years ago, when people began to alter Earth's chemistry and crowd other creatures out of existence.

Measured by weight, or biomass, wild animals today only account for four percent of mammals on Earth, with humans (36 percent) and livestock (60 percent) making up the rest.

The great acceleration

Ten thousand years ago that ratio was probably reversed. &nbsp;

"The statistics are scary," said Piero Visconti, a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and one of 59 co-authors of the 80-page report.

"Unlike population declines, extinctions are irreversible."

For corals, it may already be too late.

Back-to-back marine heatwaves have already wiped out up to half of the globe's shallow-water reefs, which support a quarter of all marine life.

Even if humanity manages to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) -- mission impossible, according to some scientists -- coral mortality will likely be 70 to 90 percent.

A 2C world would be a death sentence, a major UN report concluded last month.&nbsp;

Half-a-century of conservation efforts have scored spectacular successes, with significant recoveries among tigers, manatees, grizzly bears, bluefin tuna and bald eagles.

"If we didn't make those efforts, the situation would have been much worse," Lambertini said.

But the onslaught of hunting, shrinking habitat, pollution, illegal trade and climate change -- all caused by humans -- has been too much to overcome, he acknowledged.&nbsp;

"Scientists call it the 'great acceleration'," he said in a phone interview.&nbsp;

"It is the exponential growth over the last 50 years in the use of energy, water, timber, fish, food, fertiliser, pesticides, minerals, plastics –- everything."

'New deal' for nature 
The pace of population increase -- long taboo in development and conservation circles -- also took off around 1950, the date scientists have chosen as the "gold spike," or starting point, for a new geological period dubbed the Anthropocene, or "age of man".

In looking for answers, conservationists are turning to climate change for inspiration.

"We need a new global deal for nature," said Lambertini, noting two key ingredients in the 195-nation Paris climate treaty.

"One was the realisation that climate change was dangerous for the economy and society, not just polar bears," he said.

Similarly, he argued, threatened ecosystem services long taken for granted -- drinkable water, breathable air, heat-absorbing oceans, forests that soak up CO2, productive soil -- are worth tens of trillions of dollars every year.

"A healthy, sustainable future for all is only possible on a planet where nature thrives and forests, oceans and rivers are teeming with biodiversity and life," said Lambertini.

The Paris Agreement, negotiated under the UN convention on climate change, also set a clear target: global warming must be held to "well below" 2C, and 1.5C if possible.

The parallel UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), by contrast, has lots of targets running out to 2020 which are not only too weak, but -- with one possible exception -- will probably not be met, Lambertini said.

"The CBD is failing," he told AFP. But an upcoming meeting of the 195-nation body could be the beginning of a "revolution" that will see the Convention re-engineered in 2020 into "a new deal for Nature."

Unbridled consumption has decimated global wildlife, triggered a mass extinction and exhausted Earth's capacity to accommodate humanity's expanding appetites, the conservation group WWF warned Tuesday.

Unbridled consumption has decimated global wildlife, triggered a mass extinction and exhausted Earth's capacity to accommodate humanity's expanding appetites, the conservation group WWF warned Tuesday. From 1970 to 2014, 60 percent of all animals with a backbone -- fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals -- were wiped out by human activity, according to WWF's "Living Planet" report, based on an ongoing survey of more than 4,000 species spread over 16,700 populations scattered across the globe. "The situation is really bad, and it keeps getting worse," WWF International director general Marco Lambertini told AFP. "The only good news is that we know exactly what is happening." For freshwater fauna, the decline in population over the 44 years monitored was a staggering 80 percent. Regionally, Latin America was hit hardest, seeing a nearly 90 percent loss of wildlife over the same period. Another dataset confirmed the depth of an unfolding mass extinction event, only the sixth in the last half-billion years. Depending on which of Earth's lifeforms are included, the current rate of species loss is 100 to 1,000 times higher than only a few hundred years ago, when people began to alter Earth's chemistry and crowd other creatures out of existence. Measured by weight, or biomass, wild animals today only account for four percent of mammals on Earth, with humans (36 percent) and livestock (60 percent) making up the rest. The great acceleration Ten thousand years ago that ratio was probably reversed. "The statistics are scary," said Piero Visconti, a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and one of 59 co-authors of the 80-page report. "Unlike population declines, extinctions are irreversible." For corals, it may already be too late. Back-to-back marine heatwaves have already wiped out up to half of the globe's shallow-water reefs, which support a quarter of all marine life. Even if humanity manages to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) -- mission impossible, according to some scientists -- coral mortality will likely be 70 to 90 percent. A 2C world would be a death sentence, a major UN report concluded last month. Half-a-century of conservation efforts have scored spectacular successes, with significant recoveries among tigers, manatees, grizzly bears, bluefin tuna and bald eagles. "If we didn't make those efforts, the situation would have been much worse," Lambertini said. But the onslaught of hunting, shrinking habitat, pollution, illegal trade and climate change -- all caused by humans -- has been too much to overcome, he acknowledged. "Scientists call it the 'great acceleration'," he said in a phone interview. "It is the exponential growth over the last 50 years in the use of energy, water, timber, fish, food, fertiliser, pesticides, minerals, plastics –- everything." 'New deal' for nature The pace of population increase -- long taboo in development and conservation circles -- also took off around 1950, the date scientists have chosen as the "gold spike," or starting point, for a new geological period dubbed the Anthropocene, or "age of man". In looking for answers, conservationists are turning to climate change for inspiration. "We need a new global deal for nature," said Lambertini, noting two key ingredients in the 195-nation Paris climate treaty. "One was the realisation that climate change was dangerous for the economy and society, not just polar bears," he said. Similarly, he argued, threatened ecosystem services long taken for granted -- drinkable water, breathable air, heat-absorbing oceans, forests that soak up CO2, productive soil -- are worth tens of trillions of dollars every year. "A healthy, sustainable future for all is only possible on a planet where nature thrives and forests, oceans and rivers are teeming with biodiversity and life," said Lambertini. The Paris Agreement, negotiated under the UN convention on climate change, also set a clear target: global warming must be held to "well below" 2C, and 1.5C if possible. The parallel UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), by contrast, has lots of targets running out to 2020 which are not only too weak, but -- with one possible exception -- will probably not be met, Lambertini said. "The CBD is failing," he told AFP. But an upcoming meeting of the 195-nation body could be the beginning of a "revolution" that will see the Convention re-engineered in 2020 into "a new deal for Nature."

In 44 years, humans have wiped out 60% of the world's animal population: WWF

The International Union for Conservation of Nature announced on Tuesday that the number of Irrawaddy dolphin and finless porpoise, residing in Asian waters have considerably dropped, moving to the &quot;endangered&quot; category from &quot;vulnerable&quot;.

According to the Red List of threatened species, the&nbsp;Australia&#39;s western ringtail possum has also moved from &quot;vulnerable&quot; to the &quot;critically endangered&quot; category.&nbsp;

&quot;In the Mekong River, for example, the majority of Irrawaddy dolphin deaths in recent years have been caused by entanglement in gill nets. These nets hang like curtains of deaths across the river,&quot; Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the group&#39;s Red List unit said.

Currently there perhaps less than 70 Irrawaddy dolphin alive in the Mekon river.&nbsp;

The decline in number comes as the number of Irrawaddy dolphin&#39;s halved in the last 60 years. The finless porpoise has also halved in the last 45 years, the group declared.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Irrawaddy dolphin usually occurs in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao People&#39;s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam.&nbsp;

The finless porpoise is mostly found in&nbsp;coastal&nbsp;waters&nbsp;Southeast&nbsp;and East Asia, Yangtze River and its adjacent lake systems, according to sources.&nbsp;

&quot;These species live in shallow waters near shore and both have populations confined to freshwater systems, and that makes them extremely vulnerable to human activities. The threats pushing species to extinction come from us, from humans ... This also means that we can do something about it&quot; Taylor said.&nbsp;

Due&nbsp;to Australia&#39;s dry and humid climate, it has lead to the massive decline in the western ringtail possums of more than 80% in the last 10 years.&nbsp;

The decline in number comes as the number of Irrawaddy dolphin's halved in the last 60 years. The finless porpoise has also halved in the last 45 years, the group declared

The International Union for Conservation of Nature announced on Tuesday that the number of Irrawaddy dolphin and finless porpoise, residing in Asian waters have considerably dropped, moving to the "endangered" category from "vulnerable". According to the Red List of threatened species, the Australia's western ringtail possum has also moved from "vulnerable" to the "critically endangered" category. "In the Mekong River, for example, the majority of Irrawaddy dolphin deaths in recent years have been caused by entanglement in gill nets. These nets hang like curtains of deaths across the river," Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the group's Red List unit said. Currently there perhaps less than 70 Irrawaddy dolphin alive in the Mekon river. The decline in number comes as the number of Irrawaddy dolphin's halved in the last 60 years. The finless porpoise has also halved in the last 45 years, the group declared. The Irrawaddy dolphin usually occurs in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam. The finless porpoise is mostly found in coastal waters Southeast and East Asia, Yangtze River and its adjacent lake systems, according to sources. "These species live in shallow waters near shore and both have populations confined to freshwater systems, and that makes them extremely vulnerable to human activities. The threats pushing species to extinction come from us, from humans ... This also means that we can do something about it" Taylor said. Due to Australia's dry and humid climate, it has lead to the massive decline in the western ringtail possums of more than 80% in the last 10 years.

Asian dolphins close to extinction: Report

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