Which species are becoming endangered?

Major extinction events are nothing new for the planet, but species are now dying out at an alarming rate thanks to humans.

We are presently losing dozens of species every day, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Nearly 20,000 species of plants and animals are at a high risk of extinction and if trends continue, Earth could see another mass extinction event within a few centuries.

“Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans,” explains the Center for Biological Diversity. “In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species and global warming.”

While there is no single international body that declares a species or subspecies extinct, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List is a widely-recognized authority for keeping track of threatened and endangered species.

“The main focus of the Red List is to stop species from going extinct,” a Red List manager told the Washington Post in 2011. “But, by default, we became the standard international list for extinctions.”

Below, find 11 animals that have all gone extinct in the past two centuries thanks to humans.

West African Black Rhinoceros

The West African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) was a subspecies of the black rhino that was declared extinct in 2011.

The subspecies last existed in Cameroon, but an extensive survey in 2006 did not find any signs of living West African black rhinos. According to the IUCN, “it is highly probable that this subspecies is now extinct” thanks to increased poaching and demand for rhino horn.

Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was a subspecies of the Iberian wild goat that went extinct in 2000.

Once found throughout the French, Spanish and Andorran Pyrenees, the population was severely thinned by hunting.

In 2009, scientists were able to clone a female Pyrenean ibex using DNA from preserved skin samples. Due to lung defects, the ibex died shortly after birth, according to The Telegraph.

Passenger Pigeon

The passenger pigeon may have once constituted 25 to 40 percent of the bird population in what is now the U.S., according to the Smithsonian Institution. As many as 3 to 5 billion of these birds were alive when Europeans arrived.

The birds’ traditional habitats were the large forests of eastern North America. As settlers cleared the forests for farmland, the pigeons turned to the new fields for subsistence.

“The large flocks of passenger pigeons often caused serious damage to the crops, and the farmers retaliated by shooting the birds and using them as a source of meat,” explains the Smithsonian.

The 19th century brought widespread hunting and trapping of the birds, which severely diminished their populations. The last passenger pigeon, named “Martha,”died at age 29 at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

Quagga

The Quagga (Equus quagga ssp. quagga) was a subspecies of the common plains zebra and a native of South Africa. Known for its unique stripes, the Quagga was hunted for its hide and killed by ranchers who believed the animals competed with livestock for grazing area, according to PBS.

The last known Quagga died at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883.

Caribbean Monk Seal

Last seen in the early 1950s, the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) was declared extinct in 2008 after a five-year review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. The seals had been hunted by European explorers who began arriving in the late 15th century, according to NOAA. They were later exploited for their fur, meat and oil by fisherman and whalers. Coastal development and fishing also impacted their traditional habitats in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

“Humans left the Caribbean monk seal population unsustainable after overhunting them in the wild,” a NOAA biologist said in 2008, according to Science Daily. “Unfortunately, this lead to their demise and labels the species as the only seal to go extinct from human causes.”

Read More: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/11-extinct-animals_n_4078988.html