“Half the world’s mammals are declining in population and more than a third probably face extinction, said an update Monday of the ‘Red List,’ the most respected inventory of biodiversity. A comprehensive survey of mammals included in the annual report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which covers more than 44,000 animal and plant species, shows that a quarter of the planet’s 5,487 known mammals are clearly at risk of disappearing forever. But the actual situation may be even grimmer because researchers have been unable to classify the threat level for another 836 mammals due to lack of data.” (10/06/08)