Red list: ash trees and antelopes on the brink of extinction

Scientists warn once-common species are disappearing faster than they can be counted as North America's ash trees join IUCN's list of endangered species due to threat of an invasive beetle

• In pictures: once-common ash trees and antelope added to red list

Native ash trees, abundant across North America, are on the brink of extinction as an invasive beetle ravages forests, according to the new red list of threatened species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The list now includes more than 25,000 species at risk of extinction and the scientists warn that species, such as the American ashes and five African antelopes, that were thought to be safe, are now disappearing faster than they can be counted.