Subscribe to
"Animal of the day"

AddThis Feed Button
Or subscribe by e-mail

Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

We hope that reader will gain an increased appreciation of the need for more conservation measure in order to protect the beautiful creatures that inhabit the earth. Our philosophy is that the more we learn about animals, the more we respect them and take better care of them. That is why we update this blog with new animals, We encourage you to syndicate our content by adding "animal of the day" to your own blog! (read more)

About us

Our mission is to get people excited about animals and their welfare by writing articles on these animals. We encourage people to comment on posts and share with others. Don't forget to subscribe to our feed.

Contact us
Copyright notice

Funny animal videos and pictures

Swimming with manatees - harmful or helpful

Calendar

« March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Archives

Next Archive Previous Archive

01 Nov - 30 Nov 2015
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2015
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2013
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2013
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2013
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2013
01 May - 31 May 2013
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2013
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2013
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2013
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2013
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2012
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2012
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2012
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2012
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2012
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2012
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2012
01 May - 31 May 2012
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2012
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2012
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2012
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2012
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2011
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2011
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2011
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2011
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2011
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2011
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2011
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2011
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2011
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2010
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2010
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2010
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2010
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2010
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2010
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2010
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2009
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2009
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2009
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2008
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2008
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2008
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2008
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2008
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2008
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2008
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2007
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2007
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2007
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2007
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2007
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2007
01 May - 31 May 2007
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2007
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2007
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2007
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2007
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2006
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2006
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2006
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2006
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2006
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2006
01 Jun - 30 Jun 2006
01 May - 31 May 2006
01 Apr - 30 Apr 2006
01 Mar - 31 Mar 2006
01 Feb - 28 Feb 2006
01 Jan - 31 Jan 2006
01 Dec - 31 Dec 2005
01 Nov - 30 Nov 2005
01 Oct - 31 Oct 2005
01 Sep - 30 Sep 2005
01 Aug - 31 Aug 2005
01 Jul - 31 Jul 2005

Animal pictures
Mammals.start4all.com
Animal diversity web
Recently extinct animals forum
Another chance to see

Miscellany

AddThis Feed Button

« Funniest animal video… | Home | Nile lechwe »

One in Four mammals is at risk of total extinction

Western lowland gorillaLast week a summit in Spain along with a new study has shown that within the next average human lifetime one out of every four mammals may be extinct if the current trends in ecological and environmental destruction are not curbed. As of today there are 5,487 species of mammal alive and known (this is not counting the numerous endangered subspecies – which could alter the results to an even greater extinction rate). This is an astounding 1,141 species and subspecies of animals – considering most species have more than one subspecies altogether.

Unfortunately – and most alarmingly, marine based mammals may be at an even greater risk of extinction – 33%. That is one in three. Overall we are looking at an ecological and environmental crisis not seen since some of the great die-offs. The difference between those normal occurrences and this one is that we, human beings, are listed as the number one cause. This study was undertaken by the IUCN, in which more than 1,700 scientists, experts, and analysts took part, over the course of five years.

The animals most at risk for the long term are large cats, whales, and primates. The most threatened area of world on land is found in Asia, where the main human causes of environmental havoc are being experienced. Pollution, deforestation, and mass habitat loss to satiate the growing human populations through new housing and farming developments – not to mention poaching and the meat trade. Over 79% of Asia's primate population is staring down the barrel of the extinction gun through these direct human causes.

The largest contributor to the endangerment of species worldwide is the loss of habitat – in fact more than 40% of all the endangered species are at risk due to this cause alone. Most of the marine mammal deaths are preventable, however due to fast fishing methods on an industrial scale, there are all sorts of mammals being caught and killed without any benefit to man. They are usually discarded as it is most of the time illegal to catch an endangered species.

Currently laws and regulations in place to protect certain species, combined with conservation efforts, have been able to bring back populations from the brink of extinction. However, as our numbers continue to grow, passing seven billion soon enough, and possibly eight billion, our expansion will only continue to destroy and damage wildlife, threatening more and more species with their demise.

As this study outlines the impact that our species is having globally, it also shows that our current efforts have worked for some species. Unfortunately unless we review and look at our habits and ways of life, it may not be enough to start a cascade of ecological collapse, as many species are dependent on another – as one link in a massive food web is broken, others weaken or break off altogether. With the extinction of over 1,000 species in what could be just one human lifetime – it may threaten our very ways of life on this planet.

Picture of the western lowland gorilla by Kabir Bakie at the Cincinnati Zoo July, 2005. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5

Tags used in this posting

Other entries about 'extinct'


Add your thoughts about this animal:

You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook
  
Remember personal info?

Emoticons / Textile

Comment moderation is enabled on this site. This means that your comment will not be visible on this site until it has been approved by an editor.

  ( Logged in as )

Notify:
Hide email:

Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.