Sunday 25 October 2015

the sixth great extinction?

So some of you might have heard about the sixth great extinction. Some of you might not have. For the benefit of those who haven't, the sixth great extinction is a global event where many species of animals on the Earth die out, and, well, become extinct. It has happened before (5 times to be precise, that's why this is called the sixth), and each time it happened, the Earth took several million years to recover it's original biodiversity.

Then, some of you might ask: is this really happening?

I don't know for sure. But what I do know is that many species of animals are threatened by extinction right now. The snow leopards, the puffins and the bluefin tuna are some animals that have had their numbers drastically reduced most likely as a result of human activities. Don't forget the animals that have gone extinct either. The passenger pigeon, one of the world's most abundant birds, went extinct by the 1900s due to overhunting and habitat loss. If you think about it, it's rather scary. One of the most abundant bird species in the world, driven to extinction because of humans. Are we going to continue on our destructive path?

I hope not.

What I do hope for, however, is a collective effort to help save the animals (or the biodiversity) of the earth before it is too late, so that future generations have the opportunity to discover the beauty and magnificence of the animal world.

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References:
Drake, N., 2015, 'Will Humans Survive the Sixth Great Extinction?', National Geographic, 23 June, viewed 25 October 2015, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150623-sixth-extinction-kolbert-animals-conservation-science-world/




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