India, Oct. 8 -- Africa's monitored wildlife populations declined by an average of 80 per cent between 1970 and 2022, highlighting the scale of biodiversity loss across the continent, according to a new report released by World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) on October 8, 2026.

The Living Planet Report 2026: The Science of Hope, found that the average size of monitored wildlife populations globally fell by 73 per cent over the 52-year period between 1970 and 2022.

The findings are based on the Living Planet Index, compiled by the Zoological Society of London, which tracks 35,803 populations representing 5,790 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2022. The figure is an average change in population size, not a count of animals lost.

The Africa ind...