Wildlife populations plunge 73 percent amid warnings of biodiversity crisis

The report found that populations under review had fallen 73 percent since 1970, mostly due to human pressures. © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

Paris (AFP) – Wild populations of monitored animal species have plummeted over 70 percent in the last half-century, according to the latest edition of a landmark assessment by WWF published on Thursday.

Featuring data from 35,000 populations of more than 5,000 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, the WWF Living Planet Index shows accelerating declines across the globe.