There are just three western gray squirrel populations left in Washington state as more frequent and intense wildfires continue to decimate their habitats, officials said.
And this species is just the latest to feel the impact of climate change. A report last year published by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature found that out of nearly 32,000 animal populations worldwide, there was an average decline of 69% since 1970. That sharp decline, the report warned, is a “code red for the planet (and humanity).”
“The message is clear and the lights are flashing red,” WWF International’s director general Marco Lambertini says in the report. “Our most comprehensive report ever on the state of global vertebrate wildlife populations presents terrifying figures: a shocking two-thirds decline in the global Living Planet Index less than 50 years.”
And this species is just the latest to feel the impact of climate change. A report last year published by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature found that out of nearly 32,000 animal populations worldwide, there was an average decline of 69% since 1970. That sharp decline, the report warned, is a “code red for the planet (and humanity).”
“The message is clear and the lights are flashing red,” WWF International’s director general Marco Lambertini says in the report. “Our most comprehensive report ever on the state of global vertebrate wildlife populations presents terrifying figures: a shocking two-thirds decline in the global Living Planet Index less than 50 years.”