NEWS: Global wildlife numbers 'halved in four decades

A WWF study has found that the world's wildlife population has dropped by more than a half in the past four decades - a far greater drop than identified in a previous report. Human numbers, meanwhile, have doubled.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) found in its latest survey that there was a 52-percent decrease in the global head count for more than 10,000 different animal populations across Earth.
The 2014 Living Planet Report, released on Tuesday, looked at the change in population numbers for 3,038 of what it considers to be the most representative animal species.

It revealed a 39 percent fall in numbers across a representative sample of land-dwelling species from 1970 to 2010, with the same depletion in marine species. In freshwater populations, the drop was more marked - at 76 percent.

"The number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago," the report said.

Marine decline matched that on land, while freshwater populations were worst-hit

"Given the pace and scale of change, we can no longer exclude the possibility of reaching critical tipping points that could abruptly and irreversibly change living conditions on Earth," it added.

A previous report from the WWF looking at similar populations between 1970 and 2008 had found the level of decline overall to be far lower - at 28 percent. Improved measuring methods explained the huge difference, the group said.

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