2 kiwi birds are rare bright spot in grim extinction report 

2 kiwi birds are rare bright spot in grim extinction report 

Context

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s latest update

What has happened?

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has,

• Upgraded the Okarito kiwi and the Northern Brown kiwi from endangered to vulnerable. These birds belong to New Zealand

What more does the IUCN update say?

The conservation group’s latest update mostly detailed grave threats to animals and plants due to loss of habitat and unsustainable farming and fisheries practices

• 3 new reptiles declared extinct: It said three reptile species are now considered extinct in the wild. The whiptail-skink, the blue-tailed skink and Lister’s gecko from Australia’s Christmas Island all have mysteriously disappeared. The group said a disease or the arrival of an invasive species, the yellow crazy ant, might be to blame.

What is IUCN?

• It was created in 1948
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) is a membership Unionuniquely composed of both government and civil society organizations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together
• IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it