Recently, a study found that one-fifth of vertebrates on land are bought and sold in the wildlife trade. The wildlife trade, both legal and illegal, is a cruel, global multi billion dollar business in which animals are captured, killed, and sold for their meat, skin, and bones. Animals like pangolins are so highly trafficked, they […]
Tag: mass extinction
Petition: Ask Australia to Act Now to Stop Their Extinction Crisis
Animal and plant species around the world are in danger of extinction. We’ve entered the Earth’s sixth mass extinction and according to the UN, one million plant and animal species are endangered. In Australia alone, 511 animal species, 1,356 plant species and 82 distinct “ecological communities” are nationally threatened. Ecological communities are defined as “naturally […]
Petition: Protect Frogs Around the World From Extinction!
Frogs play an important role in many ecosystems. They are bio-indicators, which means they indicate the health of their ecosystems with their permeable, porous skin that reacts to biological hazards such as contamination. They also help with insect control as a food source for carnivorous predators and eating smaller creatures. Sadly, frogs around the world […]
Energy development vs. endangered species: winner takes all
Widespread species decline at the hands of humans is a powerful tale. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 27 per cent of 100,000 assessed species are threatened with extinction. This disappearance is a warning that something is amiss on Earth. The Anthropocene is the newly recognized geological epoch defined as […]
The Great Insect Dying: Vanishing act in Europe and North America
In recent months a debate over whether a global insect apocalypse is underway has raged in the mainstream media and among researchers. To assess the range of scientific opinion, Mongabay interviewed 24 entomologists and other scientists working on six continents, in more than a dozen countries, to better determine what we know, what we don’t, […]
The Great Insect Dying: A global look at a deepening crisis
In recent months a debate over whether a global insect apocalypse is underway has raged in the mainstream media and among researchers. To assess the range of scientific opinion, Mongabay interviewed 24 entomologists and other scientists working on six continents, in more than a dozen countries, to better determine what we know, what we don’t, […]
Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. […]
As the mammal tree of life suffers hits, should we prioritize which species to save?
The current mass extinction is eliminating whole branches of the mammal tree of life, which will take millions of years to replace, according to a recent study. Some researchers suggest focusing our conservation efforts on mammal species that sit on the tree’s most distinct and precarious limbs. How we choose to save one species over […]