The Extinction of Animals

Since the evolution of human beings, the existence of the life forms around them begins to change with a considerable effect. Human beings are currently causing the greatest mass extinction of species since the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Researches shows that in another 100 years half of the animal species present right now will be extinct if there are no measures taken to protect them. It would be a result of the uncontrolled habitat destruction, pollution and climate change. A majority of the world’s biologist had come to a conclusion that a mass extinction of animals is underway in the next century to come, yet most of us are not aware of this circumstance. The last two centuries witnessed accelerated rates of animal extinction and endangerment which took place alongside industrial progress and rapid growth of the human population. Thus, when the question arises on what and whom to blame for the extinction of animals, we the human are the ones to answer.

Till today, the list of extinct animals is being refined and added year in year out. From the famous and known extinction of the Dodo bird, Siberian Tigers, Caspian Tigers, Japanese Wolf, Mexican Grizzly Bear to the late Western Black Rhinoceros. Mostly this extinction is the results of human actions. There are now thousands of endangered species of animals representing virtually every part of the planet, and this number is constantly growing. In the year 1963, endangered animals have captured the attention of the world since the introduction of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN identified the animals that were at the brink of extinction. Generally endangered species is defined as animals of those species which are threatened with extinction to one degree or another. According the statistics that the IUCN came up with in 2007, there are now 41,415 species on the Red List and 16,306 are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.

As to reduce the extinction rate, many nature related organisations and private bodies (NGO) merged and formed research groups to find out the causes of the present extinction. The most important and inevitable cause of extinction is the loss of natural habitats due to human development demands. Deforestation are being carried out in a large scale to fill the demands of plantations and farming, petroleum resources, timber, mineral resources and also land and housing developments. The uncontrolled destruction of natural habitats causes a big fragmentation of biodiversity in that specific location. In that case, all the animals will have to bear the brunt and die from the top of the food chain to the bottom.