Rhinos, frogs and toads among thousands of animals that could disappear in just 10 YEARS

RHINOS, frogs, toads and a species of porpoise are among the thousands of animals and plants that could be wiped out within TEN YEARS, as experts warn of a "mass extinction" event.

Vaquita porpoise, Darwin frog & Sumatran rhinoGETTY • ALAMY

The Vaquita porpoise, the Darwin frog and the Sumatran rhino may not be here in 10 years

A leading global environmental organisation estimate that 4,635 animals and plants are "on the edge of extinction" and could disappear from the face of the Earth in the next decade, if rates of decline continue at their current speed.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have declared that such animals include the world's smallest porpoise – known as the vaquita - species of rhino and swathes of amphibians - consisting of frogs, toads and salamanders.

There are fewer than 100 vaquitas left in the wild and they are only found in the gulf of California in Mexico.

But their peaceful existence is being destroyed by a fishery which is accidentally catching the porpoise in their nets.

Elsewhere, rhinos across Africa and Asia are suffering from poaching, by hunters who slaughter them for their horns to sell in Vietnam and to the Chinese medicinal trade.

The two that are particularly in danger are the Sumatran rhino and the Javan rhino - both found in Indonesia - of which there are less than 100 left of each in the wild.

Sumatran rhinoALAMY

There are less than 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild

Stop Wildlife Crime - The Series - Rhinos - WWF

Dr Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, said: "The Sumatran rhino... there is only about 100 left, and the Javan rhino we know there are about 59 to 62 in one place. So they are one the edge."

Where amphibians are concerned, experts fear some species may already be extinct because of a deadly disease which is wiping them out in the thousands.

Such creatures that are listed as critically endangered, one classification below being extinct, include the South American red-belly toad in Brazil and the Darwin's frog, found in Chile and Argentina.

"There is a disease which is wiping many of them out very rapidly and quite a lot of them now we don't know if they have survived or not. So this is hundreds of species at huge risk and some of them might already be extinct because of this disease," said Dr Stuart.

However, there are efforts currently in place to help protect creatures at risk, stressed Dr Stuart.

Animals such as the Indian rhino have seen their numbers increase by 350 per cent in the last 100 years thanks to conservation action designed to protect their environment and keep them safe from poachers.

The only problem, Dr Stuart added, is more conservation needs to be done to reflect the thousands of animals that need help.

"Things would be much worse if it wasn't for the conservation action that is going on. The only problem with conservation is that we don't do enough of it," he said.

"The Indian rhino was reduced 100 years ago to fewer than 100 animals and now there is three and a half thousand because of strict conservation.

"There's this poaching crisis in Africa which is really bad but both species would be in much worse situations if it wasn't for ongoing conservation.

"So although they are not able to stop the poaching, they are holding the tide considerably."

He added: "But you've got to remember, there are millions of species out there. The majority of species in the world have not been described by scientists yet. 

"Those tend to be invertebrates, insects or things living in the bottom of the ocean. Fungi as well are often poorly described."

The Darwin frogALAMY

The Darwin frog is critically endangered

The Sumatran rhino... there is only about 100 left, and the Javan rhino we know there are about 59 to 62 in one place. So they are one the edge.

Dr Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission

Overall, a staggering 22,482 species of living organisms are classified as globally at risk of extinction on the official list of threatened species by IUCN.

Shockingly, all the creatures included in this figure could have fewer than 85 years left on the planet as experts fear they could disappear in a sixth mass extinction event.

The possibility of a mass extinction occurring by the next decade was reported last month by scientific journal Nature.

The majority of factors which are leading the planet towards a sixth mass extinction, defined as a loss of 75 per cent of species, are mainly caused by humans - such as habitat loss, poaching and not enough conservation efforts.

However, some animals are being wiped out by deadly diseases which are killing some species in their thousands.

Nature suggested that 41 per cent of all amphibian species on Earth are now threatened with extinction, while 26 per cent of mammal species and 13 per cent of bird species are also at risk.

Such mass extinction events have happened on Earth five times before, with one of the most prominent ones leading to the mass wipeout of the dinosaurs.

But if current rates of extinction continue and such an event were to happen again, IUCN fear there is a real possibility that it could include the end of the 22,482 animals and plants they consider to be at risk.

"At the moment we have over 20,000 species listed by IUCN as globally at risk of extinction. That's an awful lot," added Dr Stuart.

"All of those are elevated extinction risk, which means that their risk of extinction is higher than it would have been had not the threat happened. 

"It doesn't mean that they are all about to go extinct, but it does mean that they certainly have a significant chance of going extinct."

Mass extinction of dinosaursGETTY

There have been five previous mass extinction events, the most notable of which wiped out the dinosa

Leading wildlife conservation organisation, the WWF, confirmed that it is not too late to help save the planet's endangered species - but argued that the threat of a sixth mass extinction needs a "human response" from both government policies as well as changes in individual attitudes and consumption.

Mike Barratt, Director of Science and Policy at WWF-UK, said: "We are in a period of rapid change, caused by humanity. The point is that WWF do not believe that disaster is inevitable – we think that, as we know the causes, we can put things right. 

"If we change policy, business and individual behaviours we can halt the damage to our biomes and the loss of wildlife."

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