WWF Announces “10 Most Wanted Species”

 Washington – They won’t make it to the wall of your local post office or show up in a police line-up. But they are among the world's "most wanted" species – 10 of the world's most in-demand animals and plants bought, sold, smuggled, killed or captured for the international marketplace.   

As delegates from 160 countries prepare to head to Santiago, Chile, next month for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), World Wildlife Fund released its biennial list of 10 species particularly threatened by illegal or unsustainable trade.

"Consumer demand clearly exceeds supply for a number of highly threatened species," said Ginette Hemley, vice president of species conservation at WWF. “Despite much progress, illegal trade is still worth billions of dollars a year, with profit margins comparable to the drug trade.”

This year’s 10 most wanted species, based on threats from unsustainable trade and consumer demand, are:  

·         Tigers (Panthera tigris): In the past century, the tiger’s habitat and numbers have been reduced by 95 percent. There may be fewer than 5,000 tigers left in the wild. Among their biggest threats are trade in tiger parts for traditional Chinese medicines and poaching of the tiger and its prey species. Tiger bone, believed to relieve pain in traditional medicine, is highly prized on the black market, as are tiger skins.

·         Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata): Hawksbill sea turtles are threatened by, among other things, demand for their beautiful shells; the species is the sole source of “tortoiseshell” used to make curios and jewelry. Despite protection under international and national laws, there remains a large volume of illegal trade in tortoiseshell and other hawksbill products, including meat.

·         Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): Among the three species of Asian rhinos, the Sumatran rhino is the most threatened, due to habitat loss and unrelenting poaching for rhino horn, used in traditional Chinese medicine. There are probably around 300 or fewer remaining in Indonesia and Malaysia.

·         Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla): A keystone species for Amazon rainforests, big-leaf mahogany is highly prized for furniture in the United States, which is the world’s leading importer of the wood. Much of the mahogany coming into the U.S., however, is illegally logged and the species is likely to be commercially extinct in less than a decade unless stricter controls are placed on harvesting.

·         Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides): Marketed under the more appealing name of “Chilean sea bass,” toothfish has suffered for its popularity among seafood lovers in the United States and Japan. Slow-growing and slow to reproduce, toothfish populations are now on the verge of collapse across the Southern Hemisphere. They are under heavy pressure from pirate ships, whose illegal catch is so excessive that licensed fishermen in Australia are threatening to take up arms against them.

·         Yellow-headed Amazon parrots (Amazona oratrix): The capture of these birds for the pet market, combined with severe habitat loss, has caused the wild population to plummet more than 90 percent since 1970. The total population is currently believed to be fewer than 10,000 birds in Mexico, with a few hundred in Guatemala and only one small viable population remaining in Belize.

·         Seahorses (Hippocampus species): There are 32 known species of seahorses and at least 20 are threatened by the unregulated trade of both live seahorses for aquariums and trade in dried seahorses, sold as curios and as treatments in traditional Chinese medicine. The trade volume of dried seahorse in 2002 is believed to be at least 70 tons (equivalent to about 24.5 million individuals).

·         Asian elephants (Elephas maximus): Poaching of elephants for ivory and meat remains a serious problem in many Asian countries, as does habitat loss. Reports this month from the first official ivory tracking system found that illegal ivory sales have been on the increase since 1998, led by increasing demand in China. The population of Asian elephants today stands at between 35,000 and 50,000 in the wild, with an additional 15,000 in captivity.

·         Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus): The world's largest fish – growing as long as 50 feet – is found in tropical and warm temperate seas. Whale sharks have been overfished for their meat, fins, liver, cartilage and skin. Countries such as the United States, Maldives, Taiwan, Honduras, Australia and the Philippines have already banned the hunting of whale sharks in their waters.

·         Malayan giant turtle (Orlitia borneensis): This species, along with dozens of other Asian tortoises and freshwater turtles, is threatened largely by unsustainable collection for food, primarily in China. The Malayan giant turtle, found in Malaysia and Indonesia, is also consumed locally, with a small number sold for the international pet trade.

 Several of these species – the tiger and rhino, treaty that regulates trade in threatened and endangered animals and plants. It is perhaps best known for helping reduce poaching ofor example – have remained on WWF's "most wanted" list over the past decade, indicating little progress in stopping illegal trade and other threats to their survival. Other species, such as toothfish and mahogany, have moved onto the list because of a dramatic increase in demand for their products on global markets.

Considered the world's most important wildlife agreement, CITES is the only global f African elephants by banning ivory sales in 1989. But as the world’s oceans face continued overfishing pressure, countries are increasingly seeking CITES protection for marine species.

“This year, CITES delegates will consider adding a number of marine species to the treaty, including Patagonian toothfish, seahorses and whale sharks, to ensure that they are sustainably caught and traded,” Hemley said. “We see CITES as the best forum for ensuring sustainability of many of the world’s shared marine resources.”