HALF the world's wild animals have disappeared in 40 years: Humankind held responsible as familiar species lose battle for survival

Mankind's need for land and resources, combined with hunting and poaching, are causing our wild animals to die out 

Wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970, a new report has found

The likes of forest elephants, African lions and tigers are under threat, as well as British harbour seals and birds

Lion numbers dropped 90 per cent in 40 years, tigers by 97 per cent in 100 years and elephants 60 per cent since 2002

From the forest elephants of Africa, to India’s tigers and even our own harbour seals, wildlife is losing the battle for survival all over the world.

Exotic mammals such as the magnificent big cats are under the greatest threat, but even here in Britain numbers of once-familiar species have collapsed.

And responsible for this dramatic decline is man. In fact, humankind’s ever-growing need for land and resources, coupled with hunting and poaching, has halved the number of wild animals in world in just 40 years, according to a shocking report. The Living Planet Report by WWF and the Zoological Society of London has found that wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970.

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The authors compiled data on 10,380 animal populations, including 3,038 different species, as an index to judge how global wildlife is faring as a whole.

READ MORE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2774093/Half-world-s-wild-animals-disappeared-40-years.html