Humans are currently causing the greatest
mass extinction of species since the extinction of
the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. If present trends
continue one half of all species of life on earth will
be extinct in less than 100 years, as a result of
habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species,
climate change and over hunting.
-World Conservation Union (IUCN) has calculated the percentage of endangered species as 40 percent of all organisms based on the sample of species that have been evaluated through 2006. Many nations have laws offering protection to these species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to the lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice. The high rate at which species have become extinct within the last 150 years is a cause of concern. While species have evolved and become extinct on a regular basis for the last several hundred million years, recent rates of extinction are many times higher than the typical. The risk of species extinctions at present is estimated at 100 to 1000 times "background" or average extinction rates in the evolutionary time scale of planet Earth;moreover, this current rate of extinction is thus 10 to 100 times greater than any of the prior mass extinction events in the history of the Earth. If this rate of extinction continues or accelerates, the number of species becoming extinct in the next decade could number in the millions.While most people readily relate to endangerment of large mammals or birdlife, some of the greatest ecological issues are if key species vanish at any level of the food chain.
'Call of Life' Facing the Mass Extinction Trailer
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