Half of crocodile species are at risk of extinction, study finds

MORE than half of crocodile species are facing extinction at the hands of humans, a study has found.

A first-of-its-kind study has assessed more than 10,000 reptilian species and calculated how many of them are at risk of being wiped out. Similar projects have been done in the past for birds, amphibians and mammals.

Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Natureserve, an American non-profit organisation specialising in wildlife conservation, found that about 1,800 reptile species are at risk, equating to about one in five species.

Almost 1,000 scientists contributed to the research over almost two decades from 48 different locations worldwide and found that, as a group, there are more threatened reptiles than birds or mammals, but fewer than amphibians.

They found that the proportion of turtles and crocodiles that are threatened (57.9 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively) is much higher than those of squamates, a group that includes lizards and snakes. Just one in five squamates is at-risk, the study found.

Two dozen species of crocodile were included in the study, compared with 9,820 squamates, and seven are critically endangered, the Siamese, Cuban, Philippine and Orinoco crocodiles as well as Chinese alligators, west African slender-snouted crocodiles and the gharial. The American crocodile, mugger crocodile, West African crocodile, dwarf crocodile and the false gharial were all classed as vulnerable.

Dr Bruce Young, chief zoologist at Natureserve, said there are three reasons why crocodiles are more at risk of extinction than other reptiles.

“First, crocodiles have a lot of goodtasting meat, so I’m told, so many people hunt them for food,” he said.

“Second, some crocodiles are dangerous to people who enter their habitat, so they are persecuted in many areas.

“And third, most crocodiles inhabit freshwater habitats for at least part of their life cycle, and freshwater habitats are among the most altered of any habitat.”

The study is published in the journal