Endangered Species of the World, a Quick Summary

It is estimated that about 90% of all species that have ever lived have disappeared. This is natural, since the extinctions have occurred through natural processes, with the fitter always surviving. It has not been until after humans learned to hunt animals that the extinction rate began to soar. Now a days people are destroying forests, polluting the air and water, and hunting, that 50-100 species are going extinct everyday. If we keep on destroying the earth as we are doing so, in a few decades millions of species will go extinct, perhaps 50% of the present number. The majority of extinctions are occurring among the invertebrates, especially the insects. The extinction of plants is also important, since about 20-40 animals depend on each plant. When a species of plants dies, at least one, if not more animals die. The destruction of tropical forests is another major problem. About 70-95% of all species live in tropical forests. If we keep on killing all the exotic species, the only animals that will survive are animals like rats, and our society will become a “pest-dominated society.”


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