Almost one-third of mammal species in germany are threatened with extinction. This is the result of the current red list of mammals presented by the federal office for nature conservation (bfn) and the red list center (RLZ) in bonn on thursday.
The authors have determined the population situation and the level of danger for 97 mammals native to germany.
Among the endangered species are the brown hare, iltis, bechstein’s bat, field hamster, garden dormouse and harbor porpoise. "Their occurrences are declining because human use of their habitats continues to increase," explained bfn president beate jessel. "It is also the impact of our uses that has led to the gray long-eared bat, the lynx and the minke whale now being listed as threatened with extinction."
In the red list, endangered animals are those that fall into one of four categories: endangered, critically endangered, endangered, or endangered of unknown magnitude. The red list has now been updated after a good ten years.
The populations of 17 mammal species, including the atlantic grey seal, wildcat and otter, have developed positively. This is mainly due to decreases in the area of nature and environmental protection. A further 39 species were found to be at least in stable development.
The red list provides information on all 117 mammal species occurring in germany, including those that have not been assessed for their risk because of their sporadic or recent occurrence. Ten recorded species are extinct or lost in germany, such as the coarse tumbler and the european gopher. In order to halt the decline in species, "more nature-friendly agriculture and forestry is needed on a broad scale," said jessel.