FACTBOX - Gorillas, hammerhead sharks at risk

(Reuters) - Following are highlights of a 2007 "Red List" of endangered species of animals and plants issued by the World Conservation Union on Wednesday.

The Union, which comprises governments, conservation groups and scientists, said that 16,306 species are threatened in a mounting global "extinction crisis", up from 16,119 in 2006.

WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLA. Moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered in 2006. The number of gorillas, found in several central African nations, has fallen by 60 percent in the last 20-25 years because of the Ebola virus and hunting. Logging has opened up roads for hunters to reach once impenetrable forests.

YANGTZE RIVER DOLPHIN OR BAIJI. Moved to Endangered/Possibly Extinct from Critically Endangered in 2006. The last firm sighting of the baiji, a type of dolphin unique to China's Yangtze River, was in 2002. The baiji have been killed by entanglement in fishing gear, boat propellers, dam construction, silting up of the river and pollution.

GREAT HAMMERHEAD SHARK. Endangered, previously insufficient data. The sharks' fins are prized as a delicacy, hammerheads also suffer from getting entangled in nets and only breed once every two years. Numbers in the eastern Atlantic may have crashed by 80 percent in the last 25 years.

BORNEAN AND SUMATRAN ORANGUTANS. Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered, Bornean endangered: unchanged after a new survey. About 7,300 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild while there are probably fewer than 45,000 to 69,000 in Borneo. Both are threatened by habitat loss, to palm oil plantations in Borneo and to logging in Sumatra.

CORALS/SEAWEEDS. Three corals from the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific are entering the Red List for the first time -- the first coals on the list and threatened by climate change and the sea warming effect known as El Nino. Also, 74 Galapagos seaweeds have been added in 2007.

GHARIAL. Moved to Critically Endangered from Endangered. A type of crocodile found in India and Nepal, the gharial suffers from a loss of habitat because of dams, irrigation, artificial embankments and sand mining. The population has crashed from 436 in 1997 to 182 in 2006.

VULTURES. Both Asian and African vultures are under threat. In Asia, the Egyptian vulture has moved from Least Concern to Endangered and the Red-headed vulture from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered. Numbers have fallen partly because a drug used for livestock, diclofenac, is poisonous for vultures. In Africa, three vulture species are facing greater threats.

WOOLLY STALKED BEGONIA. The woolly stalked begonia is the only species declared Extinct this year. It was only found on Penang Island, Malaysia.

BANGGAI CARDINALFISH. Endangered, entering the list for the first time. The Indonesian fish, with zebra-like stripes, are prized by the aquarium industry with 900,000 caught every year.

MAURITIUS ECHO PARAKEET. In a success story, the bird is moving from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The world's rarest parrot 15 years ago but there are now more than 320 in the wild after captive breeding, better protection and feeding.