Nov 20, Colombo: Popular wildlife such as the leopard, elephant and sloth bear are heading towards extinction, while 21 species of endemic amphibians and 72 of 1099 evaluated plant species are already considered extinct, a report reveals.

The 2007 National Red List of Plants and Animals in Sri Lanka in its latest report said that one in every two species of mammals and amphibians, one in every three species of reptiles and freshwater fish, and one in every five species of birds in the island are currently threatened in the wild.

All groups of inland vertebrate species, a few groups of selected invertebrates (butterflies, dragonflies, land snails, crabs, and theraphosid spiders) and nearly one third of the flowering plants in Sri Lanka were evaluated using the global red list criteria of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Twenty-one species of endemic amphibians and 72 of the 1099 plant species evaluated are considered extinct, while 223 species of inland vertebrates, 157 species of selected inland invertebrates and 675 plant species are reported as nationally threatened. Among the threatened animals, 62% of vertebrates and 61% of plants are reported as endemic to Sri Lanka. Among the vertebrate fauna, the highest number of threatened species was recorded among the reptiles (56%), followed by amphibians, birds, mammals and freshwater fish.

The 2007 National Red List is a collaborative effort of the Biodiversity Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the Sri Lanka Country Office for IUCN.