In danger of extinction: Species that could disappear in 2017

In 2016, the World Wildlife Foundation warned harmful climate change was causing massive extinction of animals around the globe.

According to a report WWF released in October, there was a 58 percent decrease in the numberof fish, mammals, birds and reptiles worldwide between 1970 and 2016.

For more than 50 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has been cataloguing species that face extinction. Currently, there are more than 5,000 that are considered“critical danger.”

Species that are facing extinction in 2017:

Bees

Seven types of bees are on the list of species in danger of extinction. More than a quarter of the bee population in the U.S. has the same problem. Decreasing numbers of these insects around the globe is impacting the planet’s food supply, because bees are responsible for pollination of more than a third of the world’s food.

Giraffes

Giraffes’ population has decreased by 30 percent in the last 30 years. This announcement was made several weeks ago in Mexico. “Meanwhile everybody is worried about the elephants, on the Earth are four times more pachyderms than giraffes,” Julian Fannessy and Noelle Kumpel, from Union for Conservation of Nature explained.

Cheetahs

Just a few days before the end of 2016, terrible news wasannounced about these felines: only 7,100 are alive around the globe, according to research published in the scientific magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A charitable organization devoted to preserving big cats and their ecosystems, Panthera, asked the IUCN to include cheetahs onthe list of species facing extinction.

African grey parrot

Also in December 2016, the IUCN revealed that a 11 percent of these birds arealready in danger. In the report, the African grey parrot was described as a “very intelligent” bird that is able to imitate the human speech. Its population has decreased by 99 percent because ofthe lost of its habitat and food supply.

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus, better known as vaquita, is a species in critical danger. According to Greenpeace, it is the most threatened mammal in the world that lives only in Mexican waters, specifically in the Upper Gulf of California.

-Miguel Velázquez