GENEVA - An invasive beetle has driven North America’s most widespread ash Tree towards extinction, conservationists said Thursday, also warning of dramatic declines among several African antelope species.
The species are being destroyed by the invasive and fast-moving emerald ash borer beetle, which arrived in the northern state of Michigan from Asia in the late 1990s via infested shipping pallets.
It has already wiped out tens of millions of trees throughout the United States and Canada, and can kill off virtually an entire forest of ash within six years, the IUCN said.
The white ash is also one of the most valuable timber trees in North America and is widely used to make furniture, baseball bats and hockey sticks.
IUCN highlighted five species of African antelope that have seen their numbers decline drastically in recent years, largely due to poaching and habitat degradation.
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- Ash trees 'face extinction' in North America as beetle invasion spreadsNW Evening Mail
- African antelopes 'could become extinct' as humans hunt them for meat and cut ...Daily Mail
- North America's ash trees, Africa's antelopes face heightened threat of extinctionMongabay.com
- Reebok's antelope namesake on verge of disappearingDeutsche Welle
- Report: Ash trees on the brink of extinctionChicago Daily Herald
- Some ash trees now critically endangeredYour News Now
- Scientists: Ash tree species pushed to brink of extinctionTribune-Review
- Once-abundant ash tree and antelope species face extinction—IUCN Red ListPhys.Org
