Climate change affected over a dozen of species: Report

NEW YORK: Over a dozen of animal species like flamingos, musk ox and hawksbill turtle are facing "strange" threats because of climate change, the Wildlife Conservation Society has said.

Releasing the list of animals affected by climate change, the society stated more than a dozen animal species and groups are facing threats due to changing land and sea temperatures, shifting rain patterns and exposure to new diseases, some in strange and unexpected ways.

"The image of a forlorn looking polar bear on a tiny ice floe has become the public image of climate change in nature, but the impact reaches species in nearly every habitat in the world's wild places," said Dr Steven E Sanderson, president of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Sanderson said, "In fact, our own researchers are observing direct impacts on a wide range of species across the world."

The list included bicknell's thrush, a bird species from North America; flamingos, a group including several species from the Caribbean, Asia and Africa; Irrawaddy dolphin, a coastal species found in Southeast Asia; musk ox, which exists in Arctic Tundra and ocean-going hawksbill turtle.

The report titled "Species Feeling the Heat: Connecting Deforestation and Climate Change" also highlighted the major role played by deforestation in climate change.