Animal Info - Switzerland

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Switzerland and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Vulnerable:
- Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteini).
- Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra).
- Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus).
- Geoffroy's Bat (Myotis emarginatus).
- Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros).
- Pond Bat (Myotis dasycneme).
- Western Barbastelle (Bat) (Barbastella barbastellus).

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 75 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 0 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 6 (8 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 7 (9 % of total species) (IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Switzerland contains portions of the Southern European Montane Forests Global 200 Ecoregion (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Population

Population in 1995: 7,045,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 170.6 people/sq km (441.9 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 7,260,357 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 0.6 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 41,287 sq km (15,941 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Polar and Alpine: 24 %
Crop and Settlements: 29 %
Interrupted Woods: 29 %
Major Forests: 19 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 0 %, Medium: 35 %, High: 65 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 7,530 sq km (2,907 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 0.41 % totally protected, 17.83 % partially protected, 18.24 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $33,850 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $22,600 (World Almanac 1999)

References and Links

References: Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2004, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Switzerland): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Switzerland: Swiss Cetacean Society (French), Swiss Wildlife Information Service (English, French, German), WWF - Switzerland (French, German, Italian)

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Last modified: November 9, 2005;