Biodiversity

According to scientists, more than one and one-half million species exist on the earth today. However, recent estimates state that at least 20 times that many species inhabit the planet.

There are more than 3,500 protected areas in existence worldwide. These areas include parks, wildlife refuges and other reserves. They cover a total of nearly 2 million square miles (5 million square km), or 3% of our total land area.

Presently there are 38 known species of mammals that are extinct. However, of them there are some that are kept in captivity with scientists trying to save them from going extinct. With global warming becoming a major issue, 28,270 animal species of mammals are now labeled as threatened