Balance sheet: losers of the animal kingdom 2024

The nature conservation organization WWF draws a mixed annual balance for global species conservation: the losers from the animal kingdom in 2024 are representative of thousands of endangered species: corals, Bornean elephants, bantengs and spectacled penguins are in some cases dramatically worse off. Wolves in Europe are set to be on the hit list even more often. Even the native hedgehog is struggling with problems and is classified as "potentially endangered" for the first time.

According to the WWF, neither the World Conference on Nature nor the World Climate Conference last year made the necessary progress to protect our last remaining wild animals. In Europe, the recent postponement of the EU deforestation regulation raises fears of further destruction of species-rich rainforests. In contrast, the adoption of the important EU Restoration Regulation would be groundbreaking.

"Wildlife is disappearing from our planet forever at a record pace and all the causes are man-made: habitat destruction, overexploitation and poaching, invasive species, pollution and the climate crisis"

WWF species conservation expert Georg Scattolin

The WWF is therefore calling for a nature conservation offensive from politicians. "The protection of biodiversity and the climate must be given more priority worldwide. There are always rays of hope where people are actively committed to protecting nature," says Scattolin.

"A global alliance is urgently needed to protect the most species-rich habitats. After all, intact nature is our best ally against the climate crisis and global species extinction," says Georg Scattolin from WWF.

This also applies to Austria, where soil consumption is particularly worrying: on average, more than 80 square meters of valuable soil are lost every minute - with fatal consequences for biodiversity and high consequential costs for society as a whole.

The losers at a glance

Banteng

The Southeast Asian jungle cattle is classified as "critically endangered" on the Red List. The global population has shrunk by more than 80 percent over the past 20 years. The main reasons for this are illegal hunting and habitat loss. Experts estimate the population at only around 3,300 animals. At the same time, the current version of the Red List also shows that conservation measures are having an impact: the banteng population in Thailand has recovered - not least due to decades of conservation efforts by the WWF. However, the growing banteng herds in Thailand cannot compensate for the losses in other Asian regions.

Spectacled penguins

The spectacled penguins are a frightening example of how quickly an animal species can reach the brink of extinction. The African penguin species has been classified as "critically endangered" since this year. In 2021, spectacled penguins were still considered "not threatened". The main problem is probably the lack of food supply due to commercial fishing and climate-related changes in fish stocks. The IUCN assumes that there are only 20,000 animals left at most. According to the forecast, African penguins could be extinct within the next ten years.

Hedgehog

The number of Western European hedgehogs, also known as brown-breasted hedgehogs, is in sharp decline. The species is now classified as "potentially endangered". In particular, the destruction of rural habitats through the intensification of agriculture, roads and urban development is leading to a steady decline. The Western European hedgehog is found in large parts of Central Europe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK. Over the past ten years, the number has declined by 16 to 33 percent, depending on the country. However, there is currently no reliable information on the total number of hedgehogs.

Corals

An immeasurable tragedy is currently unfolding in the world's coral reefs. The climate crisis is leading to record temperatures that are bleaching coral reefs in tropical seas around the world. If this situation continues, large parts of these iconic habitats are at risk of dying off. In Australia's Great Barrier Reef, scientists have already found mortality rates of up to 72 percent in studies of twelve sub-reefs. The reefs would not only mean the loss of an important habitat, but also the livelihood of millions of people who live from fishing and tourism. The only way out of this fatal development is immediate, effective climate protection.

Borneo elephant

The dwarf elephant, which lives on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, was added to the IUCN Red List as "critically endangered" in 2024. Only around a thousand of the smallest subspecies of Asian elephant remain in the wild. The population has declined over the past 75 years due to intensive deforestation in Borneo, which is destroying most of the elephants' habitat. This was the first time that the IUCN had studied the Bornean elephant individually as a subspecies of the Asian elephant.

Wolf

Despite the lack of scientific facts, the states of the Bern Convention lowered the protection status of the wolf in Europe from "strictly protected" to "protected" in December. In a further step, the EU could lower wolf protection in the Habitats Directive. In this case, wolves could possibly be allowed to be hunted regularly again, which would clearly be a step backwards for species protection. Until now, wolves could only be shot in exceptional cases as a last resort by order of the authorities.