Where is animal extinction most common

Joe Myers , , Formative Content. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. Top COP26 stories: China and the US reach emissions deal; aviation sector seeks sustainable jet fuels; call for global agreement on sustainability reporting standards.

I accept. Future of the Environment Which country has the most endangered animals? Joe Myers , Formative Content. Take action on UpLink. The consequences are profound, not just in those places and for those species but for all of us.

These are tangible consequential losses, such as crop pollination and water purification, but also spiritual and cultural ones. Although often obscured by the noise and rush of modern life, people retain deep emotional connections to the wild world.

Wildlife and plants have inspired our histories, mythologies, languages and how we view the world. The presence of wildlife brings joy and enriches us all — and each extinction makes our home a lonelier and colder place for us and future generations. The current extinction crisis is entirely of our own making. More than a century of habitat destruction, pollution, the spread of invasive species, overharvest from the wild, climate change, population growth and other human activities have pushed nature to the brink.

Addressing the extinction crisis will require leadership — especially from the United States — alongside bold, courageous, far-reaching initiatives that attack this emergency at its root. Among the most critical steps is the 30x30 campaign, which will protect wildlife places and wildlife habitat, including oceans, rivers, forests, deserts and swamps.

Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans. In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming [ 3 ].

Because the rate of change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species' extinction potentially leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web, numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades as ecosystems unravel.

Species diversity ensures ecosystem resilience, giving ecological communities the scope they need to withstand stress.

Thus while conservationists often justifiably focus their efforts on species-rich ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs — which have a lot to lose — a comprehensive strategy for saving biodiversity must also include habitat types with fewer species, like grasslands, tundra, and polar seas — for which any loss could be irreversibly devastating.

And while much concern over extinction focuses on globally lost species, most of biodiversity's benefits take place at a local level, and conserving local populations is the only way to ensure genetic diversity critical for a species' long-term survival. In the past years, we know of approximately 1, species that have gone extinct, from the woodland bison of West Virginia and Arizona's Merriam's elk to the Rocky Mountain grasshopper, passenger pigeon and Puerto Rico's Culebra parrot — but this doesn't account for thousands of species that disappeared before scientists had a chance to describe them [ 4 ].

Nobody really knows how many species are in danger of becoming extinct. The major threat to this species is loss of its cloud forest habitat. People are clearing forests to create cattle pasture s. The Transcaucasian racerunner is a critically endangered species because of a huge population decline, estimated at more than 80 percent during the past 10 years.

Threats to this species include the salination , or increased saltiness, of soil. Fertilizers used for agricultural development seep into the soil, increasing its saltiness. Racerunners live in and among the rocks and soil, and cannot adapt to the increased salt in their food and shelter. The racerunner is also losing habitat as people create trash dumps on their area of occupancy. Critically Endangered Species: White Ferula Mushroom The white ferula mushroom Pleurotus nebrodensis is a critically endangered species of fungus.

The mushroom is critically endangered because its extent of occurrence is less than square kilometers 39 square miles. It is only found in the northern part of the Italian island of Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea.

The leading threats to white ferula mushrooms are loss of habitat and overharvesting. White ferula mushrooms are a gourmet food item.

Farmers and amateur mushroom hunters harvest the fungus for food and profit. Extinct In The Wild A species is extinct in the wild when it only survives in cultivation plants , in captivity animals , or as a population well outside its established range.

A species may be listed as extinct in the wild only after years of surveys have failed to record an individual in its native or expected habitat. Extinct in the Wild: Scimitar-horned Oryx The scimitar-horned oryx Oryx dammah is a species of antelope with long horns.

Its range extends across northern Africa. The scimitar-horned oryx is listed as extinct in the wild because the last confirmed sighting of one was in Captive herds are now kept in protected areas of Tunisia, Senegal, and Morocco. Scimitar-horned oryxes are also found in many zoos.

Extinct in the Wild: Black Soft-shell Turtle The black soft-shell turtle Nilssonia nigricans is a freshwater turtle that exists only in one man-made pond, at the Baizid Bostami Shrine near Chittagong, Bangladesh. The to turtles that live at the pond rely entirely on humans for food. Until , black soft-shell turtles lived throughout the wetland s of the Brahmaputra River, feeding mostly on freshwater fish.

Unlike other animals that are extinct in the wild, black soft-shell turtles are not found in many zoos. The reptiles are considered to be the descendants of people who were miraculously turned into turtles by a saint during the 13th century.

Extinct in the Wild: Mt. Kaala Cyanea The Mt. Kaala cyanea Cyanea superba is a large, flowering tree native to the island of Oahu, in the U. The Mt. Kaala cyanea has large, broad leaves and fleshy fruit. The tree is extinct in the wild largely because of invasive species. Non-native plants crowded the cyanea out of its habitat, and non-native animals such as pigs, rats, and slugs ate its fruit more quickly than it could reproduce.

Kaala cyanea trees survive in tropical nurseries and botanical garden s. Many botanists and conservationists look forward to establishing a new population in the wild. Extinct A species is extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last remaining individual of that species has died. The last specimen of the Cuban macaw was collected in This insect, whose long, segmented body resembled a tree limb, is only known through a single specimen, collected more than years ago.

During the 20th century, Singapore experienced rapid development. Almost the entire jungle was cleared, depriving the insect of its habitat. Peas and peanuts are smaller types of legumes. Habitat loss from development in the 20th century is the main reason the tree went extinct in the wild. A single specimen survived at the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, until , when that, too, was lost. Endangered Species and People When a species is classified as endangered, governments and international organization s can work to protect it.

Individuals and organizations that break these laws may face huge fine s. Because of such actions, many species have recovered from their endangered status. The brown pelican was taken off the endangered species list in , for instance. It is the state bird of the U. In , the number of brown pelicans in the wild was estimated at 10, The bird was classified as vulnerable.

During the s and s, governments and conservation groups worked to help the brown pelican recover. Young chicks were reared in hatch ing sites, then released into the wild. Human access to nesting sites was severely restricted.

The pesticide DDT , which damaged the eggs of the brown pelican, was banned. During the s, the number of brown pelicans soared. The bird, whose population is now in the hundreds of thousands, is now in the category of least concern. Lonesome George Until , Lonesome George was the most endangered species on the planet. He was the only living species of Pinta Island tortoise known to exist. On June 25, , Lonesome George died, leaving one more extinct species in the world.

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty to sustain and protect the diversity of life on Earth. This includes conservation, sustainability, and sharing the benefits of genetic research and resources. The period ended with extinction of the dinosaurs and the rise of mammals.

The last ice age peaked about 20, years ago. Also called glacial age. Also called a cougar, puma, catamount, and panther. Non-native species can sometimes cause economic or environmental harm as an invasive species. Prized as a sushi fish around the world, it has become more valuable as it has become rare. The large, warm-blooded bluefin tuna is a common, upscale sushi menu item and has been severely overfished.

The Atlantic bluefin, like so many other ocean species, is threatened by humans' ravenous appetites: Demand far exceeds sustainable fishing levels.

Loggerhead sea turtle : More than half the world's 7. Among them is the loggerhead sea turtle, which was listed as a federally threatened species in owing to destruction of its beach nesting habitat, harassment while nesting, overharvesting of its eggs, and bycatch death via commercial fishing gear. Ninety-five percent of the U. Thanks to careful management, the species' population increased 24 percent from to , but under intense pressure from development and recreational beach use, it declined dramatically thereafter, raising concerns it should be uplisted to endangered status.

The population has increased in recent years, but is still highly vulnerable to nesting habitat destruction and disruption.

Just 42, nesting attempts were made on Florida beaches in Sandplain gerardia : As the human population has increased, it has consumed remote landscapes with houses and other structures. The natural disturbances caused by fire, flood, drought and storm patterns, are suppressed despite playing essential roles in ecosystem health. In conflict with the permanence of human development, these disturbances create an ever-changing blend of meadow and forest, young and mature vegetation patterns.

By controlling, limiting and often stopping these essential natural processes, we have changed ecosystems across America, eliminating habitat for rare and endangered species that depend on open habitats. In New England and the Atlantic coast, brush fires once thinned out dense pine forests and created a constantly moving mosaic of grasslands and prairies.

The fires have been suppressed to protect human structures, causing open habitats to be permanently replaced by forest and brush. This nearly caused the extinction of the sandplain gerardia, a coastal plant in the snapdragon family. Lange's metalmark butterfly : Many endangered species are endemics, meaning they naturally have very small ranges and populations sizes, and usually require very particular soil, vegetation or climate conditions to survive.

These species are especially vulnerable to human encroachment. Among them is Lange's metalmark butterfly, protected as endangered in This unique ecosystem harbored many unique species, and many species have gone extinct as its dunes were hauled away in massive increments.

After the fires, the city of San Francisco was rebuilt using brick-building material removed from the dunes.