--- description: Global populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles plummeted 58 percent from 1970 to 2012 according to the WWF title: Wildlife Populations Have Dropped Almost 60% Since 1970 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bbff5b31ba650fd/6988abc7196cf4134b03db77/ap_16278126112280.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Environment](/tag/environment/) ## Environment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Wildlife Populations Have Dropped by Almost 60% in 40 Years, WWF Says by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2016 4:20 AM CUT  Rhinos graze in the bush on the edge of Kruger National Park in South Africa on Oct. 1, 2016 Rhinos graze in the bush on the edge of Kruger National Park in South Africa on Oct. 1, 2016Denis Farrell—AP by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2016 4:20 AM CUT Global wildlife populations have plummeted by 58% between 1970 and 2012, according to the latest[ Living Planet Report](https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/living-planet-report-2016 "undefined") published by conservation group WWF on Wednesday. The [report](http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/964/files/original/LPR%5F2016%5Ffull%5Freport%5Flow-res.pdf?1477526585&%5Fga=1.53053804.516943608.1477539796 "undefined") — an analysis of data on more than 14,200 populations across 3,700 species of mammals, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles — projected that if the trend continued, the world could lose more than two-thirds of wildlife by 2020. Worst affected are species that live in lakes, rivers and wetlands — these freshwater dwellers have seen an 81% drop in populations over the past four decades, according to WWF. The rapid rate of decline is attributed to rising human populations, habitat loss and degradation, hunting and climate change. “Wildlife is disappearing within our lifetimes at an unprecedented rate,” Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, said in the report. “We are entering a new era in Earth’s history: the Anthropocene,” he added. “An era in which humans rather than natural forces are the primary drivers of planetary change.” WWF’s [previous Living Planet Report](http://time.com/3446626/wildlife-populations-have-dropped-by-more-than-half/ "undefined"), published in September 2014, found that biodiversity dropped by 52% between 1970 and 2010 — the latest data indicates that wildlife is being lost at an even more alarming rate. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4547132/wildlife-population-decline-wwf/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4547132/wildlife-population-decline-wwf/"},"headline":"Wildlife Populations Have Dropped by Almost 60% in 40 Years, WWF Says","datePublished":"2016-10-27T04:20:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:26:55.167Z","description":"If current trends continue the world could lose more than two-thirds of wildlife by 2020","url":"https://time.com/4547132/wildlife-population-decline-wwf/","keywords":["Environment","animals","Wildlife"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bbff5b31ba650fd/6988abc7196cf4134b03db77/ap_16278126112280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bbff5b31ba650fd/6988abc7196cf4134b03db77/ap_16278126112280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"South Africa Saving Species Poachers and Rangers","caption":"South Africa Saving Species Poachers and Rangers","creditText":"Denis Farrell—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4547132/wildlife-population-decline-wwf/","name":"Wildlife Populations Have Dropped by Almost 60% in 40 Years, WWF Says"}}]}] ```