South African animals at risk of extinction

Since the middle of the 19th century, the world has been in
the midst of a sixth mass extinction, with the number of several
wildlife species continually declining, mainly as a result of habitat loss, but also due to other factors, such as overharvesting in
the form of fishing and hunting, illegal trade, pollution, disease,
human-wildlife conflict, climate change and/or due to the presence of invasive species. It is estimated that between 20 and
39% of plant species are at risk of extinction globally, due to
anthropogenic threats like land-use change, direct exploitation,
pollution, invasive species and climate change, and require urgent conservation actions. In 2020, the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) reported an average decrease of 68% in the population
size of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between
1970 and 2016. During this period, marine life suffered an astonishing 36% loss in population size. Human-induced impacts
are causing the current Anthropocene extinction.