The Bornean elephant has been classed as endangered, with just 1,000 animals left in the wild, the latest assessment of threatened species has warned. The latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species also says reptile species on Gran Canaria and Ibiza are at risk of extinction because of invasive snakes. And more than four fifths of ornamental Copiapoa cacti are now at risk of extinction, as the fashion for the plants from Chile drives an increase in the illegal trade, and climate change alters their habitat, the IUCN said.
Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN director-general said: “As today’s Red List update shows, biodiversity faces increasing pressures, from poaching, to climate change, to the spread of invasive species. “Fortunately, the Red List also points to solutions. With sustained, collaborative, science-based conservation action at a sufficient scale, we can pull species back from the brink of extinction.
” The first assessment of the Asian elephant in Borneo as a distinct subspecies found there are an estimated 1,000 animals left in the wild, with the population falling over the past 75 years. The Bornean elephant was initially hit by extensive logging of the Asian island’s forests, destroying the majority of its habitat, the conservationists said. The expansion of the human population in the Malaysian state of Sabah, in the northern part of Borneo, has seen elephants coming more into contact with people, .
