Extinction News
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Scientists say nature is in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over 1 million species of plants and animals. That's the key finding of the United Nations' first comprehensive report on biodiversity.
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A scientific review of insect numbers suggests that 40 percent of species are undergoing dramatic rates of decline around the world, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems."
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Regulators voted Friday to close the Gulf of Maine winter shrimp season for another three years, raising fears that the fishery decimated by rising water temperatures may never bounce back.
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There are only 7,100 cheetahs remaining in the wild. This had led to conservationists to renew calls for the big cats to be declared endangered.
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Penguin populations around the world are in decline and now New Zealand's Yellow-eyed penguins slip toward extinction. At their rate of decline, Yellow-eyed penguins will vanish from the Otago Peninsula of New Zealand in about 40 years.
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Over half of all the world's non-human primates are now threatened with extinction as continuing agricultural and industrial activities destroy forest habitats and hunting and trading reduce their populations.
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The world's cheetah population is rapidly moving towards extinction according to a new study into declining numbers. There are only 7,100 of the world's fastest animals left.
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Experts are now warning that the African elephant could go extinct within the next 25 years unless something is done to put a stop to illegal poaching and its illicit ivory trade.
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An environmental group is warning that Pacific bluefin tuna could become extinct unless a two-year ban on commercial fishing is enacted.
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An Australian research team declared the first mammal to become extinct due to human-made climate change and pollution. However, there's still a very small chance that some undetected populations of the rodent still exist.
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The Ash tree is set for extinction in Europe. Ash trees have long-faced two serious threats: fungal disease ash-dieback and an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer.
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By AFP
Paris -
Mammals with large brains tend to be smarter but they also face a greater chance today of going extinct, according to a study published Wednesday.Scientists have long known that having oodles of grey matter comes at a certain cost.
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Scientists in South Africa have recreated the quagga, a relative of the zebra that once roamed South African plains in herds of thousands, but went extinct by 1883 due to excessive hunting.
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Kalmar -
A healthy population of any species is often defined as having a large amount of genetic diversity. But altered or new environmental conditions can become a challenge to living organisms, and individual differences can become key to their survival.
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This week’s releases include a noir with a unique character; the inside scoop ‘Friday the 13th’ fans have been waiting for; some early, eccentric Wes Craven; and a cool take on the zombie.
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NASA's announcement on Thursday of its discovery of a cousin planet to Earth was historic, breathtaking but are we destined to merely be admirers from afar, or will we ever be able to visit?
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A loss of the world's species is expected to increase dramatically climatologists warn. This is tied to a build-up of greenhouse gases. A new study draws on computer models and argues that climate change will result in disappearing animals.
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New research suggests that around 60 percent of the planet's giant herbivores - plant-eaters - including rhinos, elephants and gorillas, are at risk of extinction.
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Two massive underground domes found in the Earth's crust in the Warburton Basin in Central Australia represent the remains of the largest known asteroid impact crater on our planet.
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Siberian leopards and tigers are on the resurgence. The big cats were facing extinction only a few years ago and the efforts of dedicated conservationists has helped reverse that trend.
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Berlin -
We have all heard of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus, previously Didus ineptus), described as a somewhat overweight, clumsy and tottering bird, seemingly so defenseless that it went extinct because of human predation.
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The extinction clock is winding down today for the Northern white rhino, one of the two sub-species of white rhinos. On Saturday, workers at a Kenya game reserve found Suni, one of two male Northern white rhinos, dead in his enclosure.
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On September 1, the London Zoo stopped the clock outside the Victorian Bird House at noon. At the Cincinnati Zoo, a commemorative ceremony was held. Bird lovers around the world stopped to remember Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon who died 100 years ago.
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Fans of master-fisherman Jeremy Wade will remember the Animal Planet's "River Monsters" episode when he was rammed in the chest by a large Arapaima. While Wade practices catch-and-release, this majestic fish is being decimated in the wild.
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Chapel Hill -
A harmless snake, mainly found in the Carolina Sandhills, has been mimicking a poisonous species for decades for protection. The odd thing is, the species that is is mimicking has been extinct for over 50 years.
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Nairobi -
Once the weapon of mass destruction for Hannibal, African elephants could become extinct. Despite some success in curbing their poaching, more are dying than being born in Africa.
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Researchers have collated a list of the 100 most rare and unique bird species, many of which are facing extinction. The researchers warn that half of the 100 highest ranked bird species are receiving little or no conservation attention.
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Some scientists think that 252 million years ago an estimated 96 percent of all species were wiped from Earth. One research group suspect that this was due to methane-belching bacteria.
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A new report finds that about a quarter of the world’s cartilaginous fish species are at risk of extinction. This includes many rays and some shark species.
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Sharks have been around for about 450 million years. But the future of one of planet Earth's most successful species is at risk. New evidence suggests that 25 percent of sharks and rays are at risk of extinction.
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Extinction Image
Mass extinctions are, by definition, harsh, but they each seem to be disastrous in their own unique way. University of California Museum of Paleontology's Understanding Evolution
Orangutan numbers and distribution have declined rapidly since the middle of the 20th century, due to human activities. These include hunting, unsustainable and often illegal logging, mining, and conversion of forests to agriculture. WWF
The red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra), native to Madagasgar, is critically endangered with a declining wild population. Hans Hillewaert
Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) photographed in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Dushy Ranetunge
Artist's rendering of the landscape during end-Permian extinction. MIT researchers believe the Great Dying happened in a very short time, only 60,000 years. José-Luis Olivares/MIT
Because of deforestation, Bornean orangutan populations have declined by more than 50% over the past 60 years, and the species' habitat has been reduced by at least 55% over the past 20 years. WWF
The chilling phrase 'extinction' warns those taking part in Generation of Z.
Jeremy Wade is a catch-and-release sort of fisherman. Here he shows off his Arapaima, caught in the Amazon. screen capture
The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is a subspecies of the western gorilla. This primate is critically endangered, with only about 250 left in the wild. arenddehaas
Welwitschia mirabilis (Common name: tree tumbo): Conservation status: Near threatened. A ragged-leaved inhabitant of African desert, some tree tumbos are believed to be over 1,000 years old. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
On Sept. 1, 1914, the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon became official when the last of its species (a bird named Martha) died. It might be a good idea to keep some really nice pictures of yellow-breasted buntings, just in case....... Canadian Museum of Nature
Strawberry poison-dart frog contains numerous alkaloids which deter predators. Pstevendactylus
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The Eastern Cape giant cycad originates from South Africa, is long-lived and slow growing, and is popular as an ornamental plant. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Suni was found dead on October 18, 2014. He was 34 years old. Screen grab
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