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Evolution creates new types of species through a process called speciation. These species find an environment where they can thrive and procreate. Species extinction typically occurs within 10 million years after a species’ first appearance, but some species, called living fossils, can survive for hundreds of millions of years. A mass species extinction is quite rare, but isolated incidences are much more common. It is estimated that half of the species alive today will become extinct by the year 2100.

Species extinction happens when a certain type of animal can no longer live in its current environment due to competition from more superior species. It can occur in a number of ways. The main cause of species extinction is the deterioration of its habitats. With the current human population at more than seven billion, more land is needed to support this growing population. This means that wetlands and forests are being disturbed and converted into housing. Logging, mining and agriculture also disrupt species’ habitats and force them to relocate to other habitats. Other habitats may not be suitable for the species, since the species faces a lack of housing and food and possible competition from other species. This leads to toxicity, which can kill off a species very quickly.

Genetics and demographics often play a role in species extinction. Although natural selection works to eliminate weaknesses and build upon beneficial traits, it is still possible for a genetic mutation to proliferate throughout a species population and kill off many of its kind. Along the same line, genetic pollution is also a cause. When a certain species comes into contact with a similar species and procreates with it, it results in a hybrid species that, while may maintain favorable characteristics of both species, may also result in a previously undiscovered genetic mutation. This mutation can end up being fatal along the line, and if the species with this mutation continues to procreate, it can lead to a diseased gene pool that eventually dies off and leads to species extinction.

In some cases, coextinction can lead to species extinction. When one species depends on another, such as a parasite, and the species dies off, the other species may die off as well. This can also happen to predators that lose their prey or bees that lose their source of pollination.
Climate change can also lead to species extinction. This occurs primarily with amphibians, which are cold-blooded creatures and therefore need to live in cooler temperatures. A warming trend can cause them to die off. Certain plants also thrive in very cold or very hot temperatures, so any sudden deviations can cause them to become extinct. It is estimated that anywhere between 15 and 37 percent of land species may become extinct by the year 2050.

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Near Future Threatened Species

Causes of Species Extinction

List Of Present Extinction Threatened Species

Extinct: the last remaining member of the species has died, or is presumed beyond reasonable doubt to have died. Examples:  Dodo, Caribbean Monk Seal, Passenger Pigeon

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Extinct in the wild: captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population. Examples:South China Tiger, Alagoas Curassow

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Critically endangered: faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Examples: Arakan Forest Turtle, Javan Rhino, Brazilian Merganser

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Endangered: faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future. Examples: Blue Whale, Giant Panda, Snow Leopard, African Wild Dog, Tiger, Albatross, Crowned Solitary Eagle, Dhole

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Vulnerable: faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term. Examples: Cheetah,  Sloth Bear, Lion

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Conservation Dependent: The following animal is not severely threatened, but the animal must depend on conservation programs. Examples: Spotted Hyena, Leopard Shark, Black Caiman

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Near Threatened: may be considered threatened in the near future. Examples: Blue-billed Duck, Maned Wolf, Small-clawed Otter

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Least Concern: no immediate threat to the survival of the species. Examples: Brown Rat, Wood Pigeon, Harp Seal

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Honshū Wolf, extict due to agression and deforestation

Passenger Pigeon, extinct due to habitat loss and massive hunting

Chinese River dophine, since 2006 functionally extict

Others?

Giant pandas, tigers, polar bears, whales and dolphins, rhinos, elephants, marine turtles and great apes are currently in danger of extinction like them. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has indicated that 40 percent of all organisms is currently included in the category of endangered species.

Among the reasons why we should protect the endangered species, the experts count “aesthetic and moral justifications; the importance of wild species as providers of products and services essential to human welfare; the value of particular species as indicators of environmental health or as keystone species crucial to the functioning of ecosystems; and the scientific breakthroughs that have come from the study of wild organisms” (Wilcove & Master, 2008, p. 418).

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This explanation is true on its own: humans NEED these organisms and the health of the ecosystem for their very own survival. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claims that loss of one plant species can result in the loss of up to 30 other insect, plant and higher animal species. On the other hand, apart from the homo-centric perspective, protecting the wild species, is an ethical must; since most of these extinctions are stemming from the human impact in one way or another. “As human use of resources, energy, and space intensified over the past few centuries, the diversity of life has been substantially diminished in most parts of the world” (Ishwaran & Erdelen, 2006, p.179).  In other words, we are responsible!

Major Human Induced Factors Endangering Wild Species

1) Habitat Destruction

Wild habitats are always in a process of change. But this change tends to occur gradually. When we intervene in the wild and trigger a fast change, we leave little or no time for individual species to react and adjust to new circumstances.
“Habitat loss is the most widespread cause of species endangerment in the U.S., affecting 85% of imperiled species” (Wilcove & Master, 2008, p. 416).

2) Introduction of Exotic Species

Exotic species are interlopers, introduced into new environments by way of human activities. These interlopers threathen the purebred, naturally evolved, region specific native species, through genetic pollution or as predators and food competitors. The new organisms grew in numbers in expense of the wild species. Moreover, in case of uncontrolled hybridization, introgression hybrid animals and plants which are  weaker in comparison to the naturally evolved species, can not able to cope with natural environs over the long run.

3) Overexploitation

Due to the commercialization of animal parts, many species suffer high rates of unsustainable exploitation. High demands for items such as rhino horns and tiger bones, for instance, endanger these species.

4) Climate Change

Recently, researchers have concluded that global warming may drive one quarter of all land animals and plants to extinction by 2050 (Global warming threatens millions of species). The first mammal to be named extinct due to global warming is the white lemuroid possum, only found in the mountain forests of northern Queensland.

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I am seeing dead / sick seagulls all the time? Is there a desease or is it related to climate change?

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Likewise, according to Immanual Kant, animals cannot be included in the moral community, because they lack the prerequisite: reason. Peter Singer and Tom Regan, two prominant figures of traditional ethical theories on animals disagree. Singer asserts that inclusion to the moral community does not depend on “whether a being can reason, but whether it can suffer”.[1] On the other hand, Regan challenges Kant’s arguement in that many people, like infants, very old people, people with serious mental disorders etc., also lack the rational capacity required to be eligible to the moral society; thus if reason is the criterion they would be excluded from rights enjoyed by the majority of the people. Animals in his opinion have not instrumental but “inherent value”.[2] They both agree in the value animals have, their perspectives diverge, though.

Singer has a utilitarian perspective. He concludes that “applying the principle of utility to our present situation, esp. the methods now used to rear animals for food and the variety of food available to us, leads to the conclusion that we ought to be vegetarians”[3]. The animal, as a moral entity, has feelings. It is motivated to experience pleasure. It enjoys the life and fears death. When we capture or kill the animal,we deprive it off the further experience of the pleasure of life. Singer argues that unless alternative means for survival exists we should not eat animal flesh for taste or convinience. Most vegetarians agree that meat consumption is not a must regarding the the availability of vegetables and crops.[4]

Regan, on the other hand, embracing a rights perspective, asserts that animals have welfare interests. They, especially adult mamals are moral entities and convey the same fundamental rights with humans, ie. right to life, security and freedom from harm, (the natural rights theoretized for while male human by John Locke) . He argues that animal meat is not one among the essential amino acids that human health requires.[5] Therefore, our right to food cannot overcome their right to life. Moreover, since they cannot have a guilty intent in their conducts, it is not just to kill or harm them as punishment.

Most people would counter this arguments defending that if there is no hierarchy between human beings and other species, it is natural to slaughter and eat animals for personal well-being, as any other carnivor would do. Only if our nature is superior to the rest of the animals we can be ethical, and only then we can approach animals with empathy. We can, then choose to protect animals, as their masters.[6] This arguments suffers from a strawman fallacy. First of all, Singer already agrees that humans can eat animals (or other humans) in extreme conditions of hunger. So do animals: they kill and eat each other due to nutritional needs distinct from humans due to biological factors.[7] Secondly, neither Singer, nor Regan argue that all species are equal in moral or cognitive terms. What they want to clarify is that they are not the “ultimate other” of the Carthesian dichotomy; it is a matter of degree. Because humans have more consciousness of their deeds, they should have higher ethical standards to avoid harming other creatures. Regan’s emphasis on the lack of guilty intent in animal behavior must be reminded. Peoples kill while they don’t need to kill, and they learn ignore the guilty feeling that they ought to feel.

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