Not so good news tonight. 1 out of every 4 mammal species is in deep shit.

The state of the world’s mammals report is the most comprehensive ever. It is the result of a collaborative five-year effort by more than 1,700 experts in 130 countries – including Canada – who collected information on the animals’ distribution, habitats, ecology, threats and human use.

It covers from the tiniest mammal, the bumblebee bat, to the largest, the blue whale, along with the 349 newly described species found since 1992.

The researchers conclude that not only are one in four mammal species threatened with extinction, but more than half of all mammal populations are declining.

“Our results paint a bleak picture of the global status of mammals worldwide,” the team concludes in its report, to be published in the journal Science later this week.

The last graph gets it right:

“Future generations are going to judge this generation very harshly,” he says, of the failure to better protect wildlife. “We know we’re taking too much, and we refuse to do anything about it.”

Via the Vancouver Sun’s website tonight | Linkage