Two species of vertebrates die on the planet every year

The fact that many animals are on the verge of extinction, they do not have enough food or their environment is completely changing, they say a lot and often. We have already learned to let such information pass our ears. But what can you say here on these numbers: according to researchers, two species of vertebrates die each year on Earth! These are absolutely real species of frogs, turtles, birds and other animals that we will never see again. And in the future, the situation can only get worse.

Sixth wave of extinction

The current mass extinction of animals has no analogues in history since the time of the dinosaurs, extinct 66 million years ago. Scientists call this phenomenon the Sixth Extinction. According to statistics, over the past hundred years, about 200 species have disappeared from the face of the Earth - this speed is about 100 times higher than under normal conditions.

In the photo: Lone George, the last Galapagos tortoise in history; died in 2012 without leaving offspring.

At the turn of the millennium, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Paul Krutzen and his colleague Eugene Stormer published an article in which they announced the onset of a new geological era - the Anthropocene, or "human era", which is characterized by large-scale changes of the Earth by man. This era, according to scientists, replaced the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago at the end of the last ice age and witnessed the rise of human civilization. It seems that in the new era there are very few other animals left.

A recent study shows that the Sixth mass extinction of the Earth is more serious than anticipated. The text even flashed the phrase "biological destruction."

Slow disaster

Scientists note that the level of extinction - two species a year - does not take into account the fact that even those species that are not on the verge of extinction lose their large numbers and habitats annually. They made such conclusions based on a study of 27,600 vertebrate species, as well as an even more detailed analysis of 177 mammals between 1900 and 2015.

In the photo: The African lion population has declined by 43% since 1993.

This analysis showed that all 177 mammals during this time lost from 30% or even more of their geographical areas. The number of more than 40% of species has been severely reduced by more than 80%. Reducing the number of animals on Earth "is already destroying the ecosystems needed for civilization," the authors write.

Of course, not all terrible predictions about the future of the Earth come true. One of the three authors of this article, Stan Erlich, professor of population studies at the Stanford Faculty of Biology, as early as 1968, in his book Population Bomb, claimed that overpopulation of the planet would lead to mass starvation and social upheaval in the 1970s and 1980s. Fortunately, this did not happen.

However, the tendency of extinction of animals is really threatening. Humanity should take measures to save them before it is too late.