Eastern lowland gorillas have moved one step closer to extinction after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) changed their status to "critically endangered" following a population decline of 70% in the last 20 years.

That is largely down to illegal hunting in Rwanda, Uganda and the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Conservationist Ian Redmond, who has studied gorillas for 40 years, told Sky News their reclassification was a "relief" as experts have thought the decline was the case for some time.

It means four of the world's six great apes - humans' nearest relatives - are now critically endangered.

Image: Eastern Gorillas are now 'critically endangered'

However the mountain gorilla, which is found in the volcanic mountains bordering the three African nations, has increased to around 880 individuals.


Plains zebras have also declined by almost a quarter in the last 14 years as a result of illegal hunting and are now "near threatened" on the latest Red List update.

Experts have warned the success of the giant panda needs to be taken in the wider context of a 52% average decline in the populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish around the globe between 1970 and 2010.

But it was good news for giant pandas in the Red List.

Giant pandas are officially no longer an endangered species after two decades of conservation efforts, according to the IUCN.

Giant Panda Population Shoots Up

Since 1986, the species had been rated as "endangered", but it has now been reduced to the lower category of "vulnerable" thanks to the success of breeding programmes around the world, especially in its native China.

The IUCN, which decides the species most at risk according to a sliding scale known as the Red List, says the giant panda population rose by 17% in China in the decade to 2014.

The increase is as a result of government efforts - including measures to protect and recreate bamboo forests.

But the IUCN warned that climate change could wipe out more than a third of the panda's bamboo habitat, which could reverse the gains made in population.

There are now 1,864 pandas in the wild, which the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) described as "hugely encouraging".