ISTANBUL

One in five mammals in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini is now threatened with extinction, according to a new regional “Red List,” highlighting rising pressures from habitat loss and degradation.

The latest Mammal Red List, released on Wednesday by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute, assessed 336 species and found that about 20% are threatened with extinction and 11.5% are considered near threatened.

According to the list, 11 species were uplisted to higher threat categories—the African straw-colored fruit bat, Damara horseshoe bat, Dent's horseshoe bat, large-eared free-tailed bat, Lesueur's hairy bat, thick-tailed bushbaby, African shaggy rat, laminate vlei rat, Namaqua dune mole-rat, Woosnam's desert rat, and aardvark.

Meanwhile, three species were downlisted, with the roan antelope, southern elephant seal, and Hartmann's mountain zebra showing population improvements that led to their reassessment.

The updated list, building on the 2016 assessment, reveals that a significant proportion of mammals are well-protected within the South African Protected Areas Network. However, 25% remain poorly protected or unprotected, highlighting the urgent need for increased conservation efforts.

The EWT identified the primary threats as habitat loss and degradation driven by agricultural and urban expansion, climate change and extreme weather, as well as overexploitation and poaching.

With 67 endemic mammal species across its diverse ecosystems, South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini now face the challenge of protecting 42% of these species, as 28 are at risk of extinction.