Never mind the pandas. What about the endangered geometric tortoise? | Jules Howard

Every year a list of the world’s most endangered species is published. It’s vital that the media looks beyond the great apes and fluffy bears

Look carefully at the most uppermost branches upon the great family tree of life on Earth, and near the top you will see a tiny twig labelled “panda”. It is re-growing. Slowly, it is getting sturdier.

Pandas are doing better than they were. In fact, this week, they have been officially downgraded in their conservation status from “endangered” to “vulnerable”, in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s latest “red list” update. The IUCN’s annual announcement details the survival fortunes of every leaf upon life’s great tree. It is nature’s version of the FTSE 100, turned on its head.

Where was coverage of the nubian flapshell turtle?

Related: Eastern gorilla now critically endangered while giant panda situation improves

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