The world’s population of wildlife – fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles – is disappearing at a rate that is far faster than previously believed.  The World Wildlife Fund says wildlife fell by 52 percent from 1970 to 2010.  Freshwater species fared even worse, declining by 76 percent.

The WWF’s Living Planet Report says that human activity is depleting the planet at a clip faster than nature can repair itself.  After comparing data sets and statistics from all over the world, researchers learned people are: cutting down trees more quickly than they can re-grow; harvesting more fish than the oceans can re-stock; pumping water from rivers and aquifers faster than rainfall can replenish them; and emitting more carbon than oceans and forests can absorb.  All of this is being done for the profit of a very small handful of the planet’s more than 7 billion people.

Some of the specifics are surprising.  Ghana’s lion population in one reserve declined 90 percent in 40 years.  West African Forest Elephants are confined to less than seven percent of their historic range because of logging.

“This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of the way we choose to live,” said Zoological Society of London Director of Science Ken Norris.

Even though it seems bleak and depressing, the wildlife report insists there is still time to take the right action – if businesses and politicians get on the ball.

“It is essential that we seize the opportunity – while we still can – to develop sustainably and create a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature,” said WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini.