Researchers say: Let some species go extinct

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Species of animals have been coming and going for millions of years, on their own, without any help from man. Now that we're here and changing the game, we feel the need to intervene. Researchers in Australia have come up with a tool to help decide which species are worth saving. The tool – a mathematical model – helps prioritise which species have the greatest likelihood of continuing to exist. Australia's hairy-nosed wombat and dibbler are among the vulnerable considered to be not worth saving.

Professor Corey Bradshaw, from the University of Adelaide, says the tool can help governments prioritise funding for conservation. "We wanted to come up with an index that was really based around theory that we have developed over the last 20 years about what constitutes the best chance for a species to persist over time."

Looks like it's all over for the hairy-nosed wombat.

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