News from WWF

Gland, Switzerland – Marine mammals such as the Irawaddy dolphin, and land mammals such as the Malayan sun bear, were confirmed to be closer to extinction according to the recent release of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.




The Red List ranks species according to their population status and threat levels, which have increased for many species as a result of habitat loss and degradation, over-exploitation, pollutants and climate change.



“For many species, population numbers are declining while the number and intensity of threats are increasing, making it harder and harder for species to survive,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme.



The pangolin (Manis javanica), which can be found in Malaysia, went from Near Threatened to Endangered. This underlines the severity of the threats faced by this species from poaching and illegal wildlife trade. According to unreleased TRAFFIC reports, there has been many seizures of pangolins across Southeast Asia, many of which orignated from Indonesia and Malaysia.



Also new on the endangered list is the gentle tapir (Tapirus indicus). A totally protected species under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972, the tapir is not usually hunted for its meat nor it is a subject of retaliation by villagers which suggests that its decline may be attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation.



Unsurprisingly, the status of the Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) went from Least Concern to Vulnerable.



“Sambar deer populations appear to have plummeted in recent years,” informed Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia.



According to Dato’ Sharma, the WWF-Malaysia field teams did not photograph any Sambar deer during their camera-trapping activities in Gunung Basor Forest Reserve, Kelantan, which went on for nine months; and Terengganu’s Jerangau Forest Reserve, which was carried out from 2001 – 2003.



All gibbons species have also been highlighted as Endangered, from previously Near Threatened status in 2007. The second largest cat in Malaysia, the leopard (Panthera pardus), has also been reclassified from Least Concern to Near Threatened.



The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Malayan tiger’s (Panthera tigris) status however remain unchanged, with each falling in critically endangered and endangered categories respectively.



But not all species are “in the red” on the 2008 Red List, with African elephants being upgraded from Vulnerable to Near Threatened because their populations in eastern and southern Africa are better off today than in the past when poaching for ivory was out of control.



WWF supports use of the IUCN Red list as an important science-based conservation tool that should be used across the globe by communities, governments and international organizations to drive funding and decision making.



“Reversal of negative trends towards extinction is possible when political motivation is high and when local communities see the value and benefit from conserving species,” Dr Lieberman said. “The case of African elephants is a classic example of what is possible.”



Notes to the Editor

The Red List is developed by a voluntary network membership in Species Specialist groups. WWF works in close cooperation with IUCN across the globe, through field interventions, and by providing financial and technical support to various Species Specialist groups of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.



The IUCN Red List threat categories are the following, in descending order of threat:



Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable: species threatened with global extinction; Near Threatened: species close to the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened without ongoing specific conservation measures; Least Concern: species evaluated with a low risk of extinction; Data Deficient: no assessment because of insufficient data.

For further information, please contact:


Sara Sukor, Communications Officer, Species Programme, WWF-Malaysia


Tel (office): +603 7803 3772 (ext 6421)/ E-mail: ssara@wwf.org.my