Human activities have accelerated biodiversity loss and driven extinction rates to the point that scientists now claim we are living through the Sixth Mass Extinction Event. Contrary to historical extinction events, this one is not driven by natural disasters but by humans; we have destroyed habitats, introduced non-native species and diseases, hunted, polluted and exacerbated climate change. The result? More than 37,000 species of all assessed species are threatened with extinction. With an extinction rate 10,000 times higher than the historical average, we are losing up to 100,000 species every year, many before they have ever been discovered. The IUCN Red List is an international project that offers a scientific inventory of the current conservation status and extinction risk of many known species. Every species on the list is assessed at least once every decade, and the record is updated twice yearly to reflect the latest known status of the listed species. The 2024 updates confirm several extinctions and that many species have become more threatened.
Newly Extinct Species
| Species | Reason for extinction | Trivia |
| Slender-billed Curlew | Habitat loss | They are the first known global bird extinction |
| Chiem Whitefish | Pollution leading to habitat destruction and species invasion | They are one of several whitefish species declared extinct this year |
| Captain Cook’s Bean Snail | Invasive predator (Rosy Wolfsnail) | Habitat and size indicated a robust species; however, they didn’t survive in captive breeding programmes |
| Ou (bird) | Habitat loss and degradation; Invasive species and predators introduction | They were described as moving slowly and heavily in treetops, making them vulnerable |
| Thracian Shad | Dam construction led to habitat (a single Greek lake) altercation and pollution | A close relative, the Killarney Shad, which is native to a single Irish lake, is critically endangered. |
Species Recently Moved to the Critically Endangered List
| Species | Rate of decline | Where? | Greatest threat |
| Gran Canaria Giant Lizard | >80% in 25 years | Canary Islands, Spain | Invasive species, loss of genetic variability and diseases |
| Ornate Eagle Ray | >80% in 40 years | Northern Australia, South-East Asia, India, Red Sea | Fishing, climate change and urban development |
| Gualecenita Stubfoot Toad | <49 mature individuals remaining | Ecuador | Habitat destruction, diseases, loss of genetic variability and invasive predators |
| Speckled Ground Squirrel | >90% in 10 years | Belarus, Moldova, Poland, European Russia, Ukraine | Habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting and trapping, pollution and climate change |
| White-winged Duck | 150 – 450 mature individuals remaining | South-East Asia | Habitat destruction, hunting, pollution, climate change, loss of genetic variability and invasive species |
