India, Oct. 8 -- Monitored wildlife populations worldwide have declined by an average of 73 per cent over the past five decades, but India has recorded gains in the numbers of several major species, according to a new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The Living Planet Report 2026, released on October 8, 2026, found a 73 per cent decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2022.

The report, produced with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), analysed population trends across 5,790 vertebrate species. It identified habitat loss and degradation as the most frequently reported threats to wildlife populations, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and dis...