Endangered species 'red list': Seals and more than half of birds under threat

A hooded seal is released March 30, 2008, by the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center in Biddeford, Maine. – Photo: AP Photo/Joel Page, File

Arctic seals are being pushed closer to extinction by climate change and more than half of bird species around the world are declining under pressure from deforestation and agricultural expansion, according to an annual assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

One bright spot is green sea turtles, which have recovered substantially thanks to decades of conservation efforts, the IUCN said Friday as it released its latest Red List of Threatened Species.