News about endangered species often worries people.But on December 5, the International Unionfor the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, had some good news.In publishing its yearly "Red List" of endangered speciesit noted some success for two kinds of New Zealand birds.The IUCN said the Okarito kiwi and the Northern Brown kiwiare now in less danger of disappearing from existence than in the past.The IUCN reports that New Zealandis reducing the populations of animals that kill and hunt the birds.The animals include stoats and cats.The number of Okarito kiwi has risen from 160 in 1995to as many as 450 now, the IUCN said.It reported a rise in Northern Brown kiwi numbers also.The IUCN is made up of government and non-government experts.Its studies help guide conservation policies.The Red List identifies which local species are at risk of disappearing from Earth.Two species are new to the IUCN endangered list.The Irrawaddy dolphin and the finless porpoisetravel along the coastlines of Southeast Asia.The Red List report says these sea animals get trapped in fishing netsand are harmed by other human activities as well.The use of gillnets is among the fishing methods harmful to these species.The nets are used on the Mekong River and in other major waterways.They hang across waterways and entrap everything in the path.Researchers have counted for the Red List about 91,500of almost 1.9 million described species.Of these, 25,821 are threatened,866 no longer exist and 69 others no longer exist in the wild.The IUCN describes 11,783 species as vulnerable,8,455 as endangered and 5,583 as critically endangered.Australia's Western Ringtail possum has moved from vulnerableto critically endangered on the Red List.The IUCN said its population droppedby 80 percent over the past ten years.The Western Ringtail possum was once widespreadin peppermint and eucalyptus forests.Now the animal has only a few disconnected places to live.High temperatures, which sicken the species,are becoming increasingly common where it lives.The IUCN announced its findings in Tokyo.The Toyota automobile company helps pay for IUCN studies.The group warned of habitat loss and other dangersfor some newly studied Japanese native species of lizards and snakes.