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 Due
to poaching and habitat loss, the International Union for Conservation
and Nature (IUCN) recently announced that the okapi, an animal that
has the stripes of a zebra but looks like a giraffe, is on the brink
of extinction. The IUCN’s Red List of endangered species, which is
updated twice a year, rated the okapi as “endangered”?two steps away
from extinction in the wild.
The okapi is also known as the forest giraffe and is the national
symbol of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country in Central Africa.
It is estimated that there are only between 10,000 to 20,000 okapis
left in the wild. In addition to poaching and habitat loss, the several
wars in Congo have threatened both the country’s wildlife and the
conservation efforts.
 The
Red List also labeled a sub-Saharan bird, the white-winged flufftail
as critically endangered. It is believed that only a few hundred birds
still survive in Africa.
They are threatened by habitat loss caused by the draining of wetlands.
Overall, the IUCN reported that 21,286 of the 71,576 species surveyed
are threatened with extinction. |
Staff
reporter Jessica Kim
(jessicakim@timescore.co.kr)
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