1,700 wildlife species at risk for extinction by 2070

By 2070, 1,700 species of amphibians, birds and mammals are at risk for extinction as a result of human land-use shrinking their habitat. In a Nature Climate Change study, researchers combined distribution information for 19,400 species around the world. They then looked at likely land cover changes in four different scenarios based in demographic information, economies and future developments in global society. They found that in the “middle-of-the-road” scenario, around 1,700 species are likely to go extinct in the next 50 years. Some of these species include the Lombok cross frog (Oreophryne monticola) in Indonesia, the Nile lechwe (Kobus megaceros) in South Sudan, the pale-browed treehunter (Cichlocolaptes leucophrus) in Brazil, and the curve-billed reedhaunter (Limnornis curvirostris) in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Read the study in Nature Climate Change and check out the Map of Life website to view species projections.