According a report to be published on Friday in the journal Science, researchers have discovered startling odds on the chances of survival for the world's mammals: 1-in-4. Yikes. Um, aren't humans mammals too. . . ?
The researchers say of the findings, ''We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining." Did you catch that one? Fifty percent are declining, and the scientists aren't letting us off the hook: ''Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live. We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.''
- The yellow flower is Helianthemum Alpestre. The flower only appears for one day and the pollen must be spread by insects, warmin
- A garden at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. The zoo provides a home for 35 endangered species.
- Only approximately 200 Corroboree frogs exist in the wild.
- Green turtles, listed as an endangered species, nest in several Taiwanese offshore islands during summer and this year only six
- Baby orang-utan in Indonesia at the Taman Safari, which plays an important role in breeding rare and endangered animals.
To see which mammals are threatened most, read more.
The study was done by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, made up of over 1,000 organizations. This particular study involved 1,700 scientists and spanned five years. With the report, was a "red list," containing 44,838 species in total, 16,928 of which are threatened with extinction. Larger mammals are more threatened than smaller ones as they have a lower population density and require more habitat — the exact ecosystems the researchers point — with problems ranging from deforestation to climate change.
There's a tiny silver lining: five percent of currently threatened mammals are showing signs of recovery. Given controversial plans to move species to save them, and scientists predicting that humans themselves need to prepare for extinction, is this study just another environmental scare that can be explained by the cycle of life? Or are we looking at being faced with the choice: bunny, pony, kitten, puppy — which one are you willing to write off?
- The yellow flower is Helianthemum Alpestre. The flower only appears for one day and the pollen must be spread by insects, warmin
- A garden at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. The zoo provides a home for 35 endangered species.
- Only approximately 200 Corroboree frogs exist in the wild.
- Green turtles, listed as an endangered species, nest in several Taiwanese offshore islands during summer and this year only six
- Baby orang-utan in Indonesia at the Taman Safari, which plays an important role in breeding rare and endangered animals.
- China's Giant Panda.
- Baby Siberian Tiger, one of the world's most endangered species.
- Polar bears. A new addition.
- Could humans make the list sooner than we think?
- A Blue Whale spotted in California.
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Claudie Pierlot
Madeleine Thompson
I've been reading about animal extinction/endangerment ever since I was the dorky, Lisa Simpson-y, conservationist-y kid I was years ago (then again I don't think much has changed), so I really don't think it's a "scare tactic" and I honestly don't think it can be explained by the whole life cycle thing. Habitats are being depleted at such a quick rate, and that makes it impossible for these animals to adapt quickly enough to survive. It's depressing and heartbreaking to think that we're leaving the next generations to only learn about some of these creatures in textbooks.
1Sad
2happy monday, y'all. ugh. i'm going on a media diet. can't take all this bad news!
3i'm sure PETA will come up with some radical plan to save these animals.
4As long as people are so disconnected from the very world we live on, and as long as we retain the misguided, insular belief that nothing that happens to the "polar bears" or the "rainforest" (using this symbolically, with an offhanded, vague wave into the distance) really matters, or impacts us, this will continue to happen around us, at our own peril.
I am not sitting around in hemp clothing eating granola bars and wondering what fur-wearing woman to throw ketchup on. I am a pretty average person who just understands that this planet is our home, not our dumping ground, and that these signs from nature should be at the forefront of our minds.
And for anyone that thinks this simply doesn't matter in an era where money is tight and on everyone's minds...if you think for one second that the economy is not impacted by the environment, you are being short-sighted.
I really encourage people who are remotely concerned about this issue to read "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" by Thom Hartmann, it is a shocking, and sometimes painful read, but its an important one.
5Happy Monday everyone. YIKES.
6
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
7I think we must do everything in our power to save every animal that has been unable to adapt. I'm sure that climate change is making short work of most species.
8sad...climate change, lost of habitat (from human expanding into territory, deforestation, pollution in water), pollution and chemicals killing off animals and causing mutations, over havesting (ex over fishing, or taking away the prey/plant they feed on), poaching..all reasons... *sigh*
9Not to bring us away from this sad, sad topic CYL...but I want to eat your avatar.
10I saw on a Captain Planet that this guy who looked a lot like a rat was polluting a town water supply. Anyway, he seems to be pretty hellbent on polluting for pollution's sake.
Long story short, the people in this town started to mutate. Which made them turn into rats. Now, the planeteers didn't like this, but even collectively, they were just too weak to stop the rat army.
So they called Captain Planet. He was able to swirl into a whirlwind or something and pretty much reverse the mutations that the rat-guy had caused in the town.
Sorry for the long analogy.
11organic, you make me angry most days... but that... is really, really funny. hahahha.
12I'm not clear how to interpret this from a creationist view. Is God simply sick of these mammals? Because if they didn't adapt doesn't that suggest some kind of system of evolving is involved?
13It is sad how reliant we are on zoos and captive breeding programs to keep "wild" things around these days.
14You know you need to take a break from the internet when...
I actually recognized these photos from a post in July. (http://www.citizensugar.com/1796142) Seriously wish I could harness the little patch of brain space being used for that and make it do something useful, like remember my online banking log in.
15LMAO Organic
16Hey God put the two misfits in the garden to TEND and KEEP not rape and plunder. This is outrageous. When I think of all of these beautiful creatures that have been so much a part of our existence and so much the victims of our indifference it saddens my heart.
Yet again however the address of one of the greatest issues of our time is slotted for the 11:00 o'clock hour response from human kind. It does not become worth our wild on a global level for the main stream of each society to act until it is eminently clear that the consequence of inaction will disrupt our daily lives.
Our mind set must change if we are to be better stewards to our co-inhabitants and in turn unto ourselves.
17I read in a Bio book (While in a Bio class) that experts believe that on average 200 species go extinct in the wetlands every year, but not necessarily because of human causes. Isn't extinction and creation part of the cycle? Some day, humans may be on the extinction chopping block.
18Species in the wetlands is different from species across the whole planet and if there was a regular cycle of extinction, don't you think at least a couple of the 1,700 scientists from the 1,000 organizations would have seen that same factoid over the 5 year study and told the others NOT to make a big deal of this?
19FYI, species extinction is presently occurring at 1000x its natural rate. So, yes, normally, the animals that cannot EVOLVE to keep up with the natural occurences of their changing environment do become extinct, but not at anywhere near the rate it is occurring now. People need to stop trying to defend the destruction of our earth for their own convenience. Think about what animals may occupy the land that is being torn down to add another f*cking parking lot, or strip mall. Plus, c'mon the city is annoyingly unattractive. Nothing like driving back into the metroplex from the country and thinking it's going to rain all the way up until you actually enter the city and then, sadly, realizing it's the disgusting smog that looked like the gray rain clouds. Everyone talked so much crap about China's atmosphere, but just look at our own! Terribly sad, yet SOME will continue to defend it.
20Thanks Brandy and Steph, I wasn't sure about the statistics, and we actually curious. I agree that we need to clean up the cities, but there also needs to be some common sense about the restrictions we implement.
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