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One in five species of reptiles are in danger of extinction but no one seems to care.
This is because according to researchers, they are considered less charismatic by humans and in fact, more ugly than mammals or birds.
According to a 15-year study, due to the vanity or emptiness of humans a large mass of reptiles are heading towards extinction.
The project involved 961 scientists from 24 countries who studied 10,196 species of reptiles, very close to 11,000 of their known species on the planet.
After assessing the risks they concluded that 21.1 percent of the creatures were endangered.
American zoologist Bruce Young who led the search said he had not raised all the funds to complete the search.
“Reptiles are less charismatic than mammals or birds, humans do not have much love for snakes,” he argued, citing a lack of support.
He added that for this reason the project had difficulty from the start to launch, even though it is the first of its kind in the world.
“Such a study of birds has been done since the 1990s, for amphibian species in 2003 and for mammals in 2008, but there were many doubts about what would happen to reptiles.”
Officials added that among the main dangers this category of wildlife, as well as for others were deforestation, urban sprawl or invasive species.
Young added that in the case of turtles and crocodiles the main danger is hunting.
But he added that although reptiles are not very handsome and efforts to save their most beautiful colleagues have nevertheless helped them as well.
Young, who is a member of the environmental group NatureServe, said: “Efforts to protect the most popular animals have consequently helped many reptiles. “Habitat protection is essential for both reptiles and other vertebrates.”
NatureServe group leader Sean T. O’Brien added: “Reptile animals are not often used as inspirational images for wildlife conservation initiatives, but they are amazing and play a major role in the planet’s ecosystems.”
“We all benefit from their role in controlling parasites or serving as food for birds and other animals.”
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