The sixth mass extinction¹ of life on Earth is unfolding more quickly than feared, scientists have warned.

科学家们日前警告称，地球生物“第六次大灭绝”的速度比人们担心的还要快。

More than 30% of animals with a backbone² - fish, birds, amphibians³, reptiles⁴ and mammals - are declining in both range and population, according to the first comprehensive analysis of these trends.

对动物灭绝趋势的首项全面分析显示，超过30%的脊椎动物（鱼类、鸟类、两栖动物、爬行动物和哺乳动物）的种类和数量都在减少。

Around a decade ago, experts feared that a new planetary wipeout of species was looming⁵.

专家们在大约十年前就担心新一轮全球性物种灭绝即将到来。

Today, most agree that it is underway, but the new study suggests that it is already ratcheting up a gear.

现在多数专家都一致认为新一轮物种灭绝已经开始，但新研究表明，物种灭绝的速度已经加快。

The 177 mammal species that were monitored have lost at least a third of their original habitat between 1900 and 2015, researchers found. The loss of biodiversity has recently accelerated.

研究人员发现，在1900年至2015年间，他们所观测的177种哺乳动物已经失去了至少1/3的原始栖息地。生物多样性的减少最近加速了。

Several species of mammals that were relatively⁶ safe one or two decades ago are now endangered, including cheetahs⁷, lions and giraffes, the study showed.

该研究显示，包括猎豹、狮子和长颈鹿在内的数种哺乳动物在一二十年前还相对安全，而现在已经处于濒危状态。