Extinction rate hits 65M-year high: report

The number of species becoming extinct has risen to a level not seen since the dinosaurs died out, according to a United Nations report ahead of International Biodiversity Day on Saturday.

Researchers warned that the alarming rate of decline could have major implications for current and future human generations.

"The news is not good," said Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity. "We continue to lose biodiversity at a rate never before seen in history. Extinction rates may be up to 1,000 times higher than the historical background rate."