Animals We Will Never See Again, And The Next In Line For The Sixth Extinction

[hatrack]

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Climate change, agricultural expansion, wildlife crime, pollution, and disease have created a shocking acceleration in the disappearance of species. The World Wildlife Fund recently predicted that more than two-thirds of the vertebrate population—mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles—would be lost over the next three years if extinctions continue at the current rate. A 2015 study that appeared in the journal Science Advances suggests that the rate of vertebrate extinction has increased nearly 100 times. Paul Ehrlich, a professor of population studies at Stanford University and a co-author of the study, notes half the life forms that people know about are already extinct. Another study, published in the journal Current Biology, observes that some species are likely becoming extinct before scientists have a chance to discover and classify them. Researchers looking at Brazil's bird populations found some already so threatened when they were discovered, they went extinct almost immediately. "That we have these examples," the authors write, "may be by good luck: we will surely have missed many others."

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The Bramble Car melomys: This small Australian rodent that resembled an ordinary mouse was confirmed as extinct in 2016. It is the first known mammal to go extinct as a result of human-caused climate change. Its habitat on an island in the Great Barrier reef was assaulted by the rise of sea levels, coastal erosion, and flooding—all driven by climate change.

Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog: In 2016, the appropriately named Toughie died in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. He was at least twelve years old, though his exact age is unknown. Toughie and another Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog were collected from Panama in 2005 for research on chytrid fungus, a deadly fungus that has been ravaging amphibian populations in the region. Amphibians, like Toughie, have the highest rate of endangerment, with a third of known species being at risk of extinction. Toughie became the face of the amphibian extinction crisis as visitors to his enclosure knew they were looking at the last of his kind.

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African Grey Parrot: In December 2016, the International Union of Concerned Naturalists revealed that 11 percent of newly discovered bird species were already threatened and changed the status of others, such as the African Grey Parrot, from "vulnerable" to "endangered." Highly intelligent and capable of mimicking human speech, the African Grey Parrot's population has shrunk by as much as 99 percent in some places because of habitat loss and trapping. Perhaps the most famous member of this species was Alex, the subject of intelligence studies at Harvard and Brandeis universities who, when he died in 2007, knew more than 100 English words.

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http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/12/animals-extinct-last-year-what-to-watch-2017

[mackdaddy]

1. Related: Mass animal die offs in 2016.

This is an "End Times" religious site but they do have a well done list of "Mass Animal Die Offs" that seems to be accurate, and has links for each occurrence.

http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/animal-deaths-birds-fish-end-times.html

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. Blobfish are near extinction too.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/blobfish-worlds-ugliest-fish-is-in-danger-of-extinction