CHAPTER 5: ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO PROTECT ENDANGERED ANIMALS

 “What you can do in response to the ocean of suffering may seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

Here are some of the simple ways in which we can all contribute towards the protection of animals: 

1. Discard the use of plastics

Plastic is poison for our animals and marine life. They do not understand and consume plastic along with the food. If we stop using plastic, we will not just save the environment, but also, animals.

2. Feeding local animals

Giving food to cats, dogs, birds and other such animals in your vicinity is also one to protect animals and take care of them. Due to COVID, many such strays died in hunger. During the summer most animals die of thirst and heat waves, lets make a point to put out water for these animals. 

3. Wildlife habitat conservation

Governments around the world have set up national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. In these places, the animals have a completely natural habitat to live in but they are also protected from the threats in a normal jungle. Threats like hunting and poaching are rampant today and we cannot let animals fall prey to that. We have to respect these boundaries. When we go to visit these places, we should not leave garbage there. We should try to make as less of an impact as we can in these areas.

4. Create awareness

One of the best ways you can protect endangered animals is to know about them. Find out which are such animals in your area or country. So, if you spot one somewhere, you can help alert the authorities and protect them.

Another way to protect endangered animals is to create awareness about them. You can create local community groups that work for this cause. Having seminars is another way of creating awareness. Also, inculcating lessons in student’s academics on how to protect animals will go a long way.

5. Donating to Non-profits supporting this cause

Non-profits working to protect animals are short on funds often. They are trying to do a noble thing by working on how to protect animals. Therefore, donating resources to them can be very helpful. Resources can be of various types. You can donate money or even help them set up their infrastructure services.

6. Keeping water sources such as rivers clean

Animals depend on natural sources of water to quench their thirst. Nowadays, we have polluted our rivers so much that animals are getting sick drinking from there. Many even die because of it. Therefore, having river cleaning drives will help in solving this problem.

7. Plant more trees

Let us save trees and plant more of them. We also need to focus on planting native species. Native plants help maintain the ecosystem just the way it should be. When the ecosystem is functioning properly, endangered animals are also taken care of.

8. Stop using products that endanger animals 

Including herbicides, plastics, strong chemicals, products made from animal skin or fur or any other part of an animal's body such as horns, tusks. 

9. Avoid using herbicides

Although herbicides and pesticides keep your plants and yard looking nice, they can be dangerous to native plants and animals. They can get washed away, entering streams where animals drink or getting in the soil where endangered plants grow. 

Instead, use natural herbicides or begin composting with natural materials.

10. Keep your neighborhood safe for wildlife

To protect endangered species in your neighborhood, specifically animals, do your part by making your home and neighborhood wildlife-friendly. Often, animals are attracted to homes because of open garbage cans or pet food left outside. Make sure your garbage cans are secure and feed pets inside. 

You can also clean bird baths to prevent the spreading of disease, and you can add stickers or decals to windows so birds don’t fly into them. Tell your neighbors about these simple steps they can take as well. 

11. Be cautious while driving

This is a rule you should follow all the time, but if you’re in a wooded area, slow down. Animals live in developed regions as well, so be on the lookout when you’re driving for wildlife near the roads.

Roads present a hazard to wildlife, and so many animals are killed due to vehicle collisions. You never know when an endangered species could be crossing the road.

Here are other suggestions from our social media family: 

( Facebook ) 

AQ Omotola Rashidah -

There’s a need to create lots of awareness and educate people on the need to protect endangered species. Replicate these messages in local languages for proper understanding.

Depending on the type of specie, if there are alternatives to them, there should be sensitization as regards that as well.

Sometimes, using the people who are likely to threaten the existence of these endangered species should be made their gate keepers and protectors.

And lastly, there’s a need for compliance and enforcement on the policies, laws and punishments to those who do not abide by the rules."

Cecilie Mjelde -

" 1. Stop contributing to deforestation and drought.

2. Extend that compassion to all living creatures. "

( Instagram) 

@koech_jerotich -

" Protect their home." 

@rewireyourmindsetstrategy -

" Education, education and education. But not only book education but rather awareness education, hands on education and education to connect back to nature. Cause without nature and animal species, human species are doomed." 

@aisha_bagha -

" Avoid deforestation and protect their habitat "

@zainab_akadir -

" Recycle... Reduce, Reuse "

Chapter 4: ENDANGERED SPECIES IN KENYA

 Grevy's Zebra                                                                                        

The long-legged, endangered Grevy’s zebra is distinguished by its unique stripes, which are as distinctive as human fingerprints. Grevy’s also are taller, have larger ears, and have narrower stripes than plains zebras. They are the largest of the zebra species.

Grevy’s zebras have undergone one of the most substantial reductions of range of any African mammal. Habitat loss in an already restricted range is a serious threat to the Grevy’s survival. They have to compete for resources with other grazers, as well as cattle and livestock. Due to overgrazing and competition for water, Grevy’s juveniles have a low survival rate. 

The Black Rhino

Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African rhino species. 

Populations of black rhino declined dramatically in the 20th century at the hands of European hunters and settlers. The black rhino is still considered critically endangered, and a lot of work remains to bring the numbers up to even a fraction of what it once was and to ensure that it stays there. Wildlife crime like poaching and black-market trafficking of rhino horn continues to plague the species and threaten its recovery.

Lesser Kudu

Both the greater kudu and its close cousin, the lesser kudu, have stripes and spots on the body, and most have a chevron of white hair between the eyes. 

Their numbers are affected by humans hunting them for their meat, hides, and horns. Their horns have long been prized in Africa for use as musical instruments, honey containers, and symbolic ritual objects. Kudu habitats are being destroyed as people are taking over their habitats for charcoal burning and farming.

Thomson’s Gazelle

These small gazelles, named for researcher Joseph Thomson, have light-brown coats with dark stripes running down their sides, a white patch on their rumps extending underneath the tail, and ridged horns that curve backward. 

Thomson’s gazelles are victims of hunting. They are often found on ranches and farmlands after many animals have left, feeding on the short grasses exposed by cattle. Here, they are an easy target and are often shot or snared for food.  The Thomson’s gazelle’s habitat is decreasing as human populations grow and agriculture, settlements, and roads expand.

Hirola/Hunter’s Antelope

  Hirolas are antelopes belonging to the family Bovidae (hoofed mammals) that includes buffalo, cattle, goats, and sheep among others. 

The hirola population has declined in the last four decades due to diseases and loss of habitat. Other factors including, predation and competition with livestock have continued to suppress the recovery of hirola.

Here are some of the responses we received from our Instagram about the endangered species: 

@rewireyourmindsetstrategy -

" I would have to say elephants, zebras and giraffes"

@zainab_akadir -

"Black Rhino in Kenya."

@aisha_bagha -

"Northern white rhino"

@_real_rizwana -

"Polar bears north America"

Chapter 1 : ENDANGERED SPECIES

Endangered species is a term used for species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. 

Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. We'll take a look at these reason further in our next article. For now take a look at this list of endangered species as at 2022. Does your favorite animal fall into it? 

According to Earth.Org here are the 10 most endangered species by end 2022: 

1. Amur Leopard 

Between 2014 and 2015, there were only around 92 individuals left in their natural range. This number is now estimated to be around 84. They are extremely vulnerable to poachers, who kill them for their coats and bones, the latter of which is sold for use in traditional Asian medicine. They are at risk of habitat loss due to natural and man-made fires. Climate change is also leading to a decrease in prey availability. 

2. Rhino

Rhinos are one of the most poached animals on the planet. Their horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine and displayed as a symbol and demonstration of wealth. Because of poaching, three of the five species of rhinos are among the most endangered animals in 2022: the black rhino, the Javan rhino and the Sumatran rhino. The Javan rhino is the closest to extinction with only around 60 individuals left, all of which are in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia, while black rhino population is estimated to be around 5,500 individuals. 

3. Orangutan

The two kinds of orangutan – the Bornean and the Sumatran Orangutan – have both experienced sharp declines in populations. A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range and the Sumatran about 13,846. They are primarily threatened by habitat loss from human-caused deforestation for palm oil. 

4. Gorilla

There are two species of gorillas, the Eastern gorilla and the Western gorilla, which both have two subspecies. Three out of four are Critically Endangered. The only one that isn’t is the Mountain Gorilla, a subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla, which is considered Endangered. Like many endangered animals, their decline is mostly due to poaching, habitat loss, disease and human conflict. 

5. Saola

Often called the Asian unicorn, the saola is one of the rarest mammals on the planet and for this reason, it makes the list of the world’s most endangered animals in 2022.

6. Vaquita 

Both the smallest and most endangered marine mammal in the world. Their biggest threat is from the illegal fishing of totoaba, a large fish in demand because of its swim bladder. Vaquitas accidentally end up entangled in the gillnets set for totoaba and drown because they can no longer swim to the surface to breathe. 

7. Sunda Tiger

Of all the big cats, tigers are the closest to extinction. with fewer than 3,900 tigers remaining in the wild, they exist in only 4% of their historic range. Sunda tigers in particular are especially vulnerable. Despite increased efforts in tiger conservation – including strengthening law enforcement and anti poaching capacity – a substantial market remains in Sumatra and other parts of Asia for tiger parts and products. 

8. Yangtze Finless Porpoise 

Finless porpoises live in the Yangtze River in China. Unfortunately, they are vulnerable to fishing; even though they are not directly targeted by fishermen, large numbers of the species die when they become accidentally entangled in fishing gear. The waters they live in are also constantly busy with fishermen and people using the waterways to move around, so they get injured and killed by boats and ships. Additionally, their waters are also affected by high levels of toxic pollutants.

9 Turtle

Hunting is one of the biggest threats to sea turtles, with poachers targeting their eggs, shells, meat and skin. They are also at risk from habitat loss, bycatch and pollution as well as climate change. Sand temperature determines the sex of hatchlings with eggs developing as females in warmer temperatures. That means even small temperature changes could skew the sex ratio of populations. 

10. Elephant 

Last on the list of the world’s most endangered animals in 2022 are elephants. While some populations of African elephants are increasing, primarily in southern Africa, numbers are continuing to fall in other areas, particularly in central Africa and parts of East Africa. With an estimated 415,000 elephants left on the continent, the species is regarded as vulnerable, although certain populations are being poached towards extinction. 

Thank you to our Instagram Family for sharing a list of animals according to them are facing endangerment. Let us try our best to raise awareness, share information and help save the animals. 

Rhino (zainab_akadir) (@dafina_bread)

Mountain Gorillas & Thompsons Gazelle in Kenya (aisha_bagha)

Giant Panda (hopeful.living.ngo)

Horses & Lions (_real_rizwana)

White Tigers (@leafypaths_freya)

REFERENCES

www.earth.org 

WHAT CAN BE DONE

 Animals are going extinct—but it’s not too late

Around the world, animals are facing extinction. For some, there may be time for us to change their fate.

Research shows that animal agriculture is a major threat to many species facing extinction, from habitat loss to deforestation and more. Climate change, putting countless animals and ecosystems at risk, is also driven in part by animal agriculture, which causes an estimated 14.5 to 51 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN reports that around 44 percent of livestock emissions are in the form of methane gas, and 27 percent in the form of carbon dioxide. So, with animal agriculture taking such a heavy toll in the climate crisis, is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint enough?

Many experts and environmental advocates say that dietary change is also needed, and individuals who are able to can take action by reducing or eliminating our consumption of meat. This is especially needed in the U.S., where meat consumption is growing at an alarming rate and around 99 percent of farmed animals are raised on industrial factory farms.  

One step you can take today is to calculate your carbon footprint using this tool from the Nature Conservancy, then work to reduce it. 

Dr. Jane Goodall has said, “With language, we can ask, as can no other living being, those questions about who we are, and why we are here. And this highly developed intellect means, surely, that we have a responsibility toward the other life forms of our planet whose continued existence is threatened by the thoughtless behavior of our own human species.” 

Just as we have the power to threaten other species, we have the power—and the responsibility—to save them.

Here are some other ways which we can help:

•  Be sure that fish and other food you buy don’t come from overharvested areas.
• Before you buy wood, make sure it comes from a “sustainable forest,” a forest where trees are replanted.
• Don’t let your pets hunt wild animals.
• Don’t use many plastic bags when they’re not necessary.
• Help reduce traffic and exhaust: Support bike-friendly cities and roads. Use public transportation when you can.
•  Don’t buy wood or wood products from threatened native forests like Pacific maple, California redwood, mahogany, ebony, or teak.
• Don’t release pets—including aquarium fish, turtles, and birds—into the wild.
• Always make sure you throw away your garbage in a trash can and avoid releasing balloons into the air.
• Save energy: Use energy efficient light bulbs and appliances. Turn off power when it’s not in use.
• Buy recycled or salvaged wood whenever possible.
• Don’t travel with wild plants and animals.
• Buy Eco-friendly products
• Follow the 3 Rule - Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
• Don't buy souvenirs made from endangered (or any wildlife) species 
• Eat less meat
• Spread Awareness : Get involved 

We have the power to stop animal extinction, and we must act now. Everyone can make a change, small may it be, to protect not only the animals, but the whole environment (including ourselves).

“The sixth mass extinction we are going through could be the most serious environmental threat to the survival of our civilization since it is irreversible”

By killing them, we are actually killing ourselves.

ENDENGERED ANIMALS - Part 2

 There are numerous species currently in danger of extinction. Most of them are caused directly or indirectly by man: climate change, destruction of their habitat, illegal hunting, etc.

Here are some of the species in risk of extinction: 

1. Amur Leopard 

2. Black Rhino - Javan Rhino - Sumatran Rhino

3. Bornean Orangutan - Sumatran Orangutan

4. Cross River Gorilla - Eastern & Western Lowland Gorilla 

5. Hawksbill Turtle - Leatherback Sea Turtle - Red Crowned Roofed Turtle

6. Sumatran Elephant 

7. Sunda Tiger - Malayan Tiger 

8. Saola 

9. North Atlantic Right Whale 

10. Tooth-billed Pigeon

11. Gharial ( fish eating crocodile from India) 

12. Kakapo ( ground-dwelling parrots from New Zealand )

13. Vaquita 

14. Vancouver Island Marmot

15. Giant Panda 

16. Yangtze Finless Porpoise 

17. Scimitar Oryx 

18. Southern Rockhopper Penguin 

19. Salt Creek Tiger Beetle

20. Western Chimpanzee

ENDENGERED ANIMALS - Part 1

 There are numerous species currently in danger of extinction. Most of them are caused directly or indirectly by man: climate change, destruction of their habitat, illegal hunting, etc.

The Holocene Extinction, or the Sixth Extinction, has already cost the world thousands of beloved species due to human activity. Although this event has been ongoing for the past 10,000 years or so—since the last Ice Age, to be exact—the mass extinction has been accelerating at a dizzying pace. 

Most of the threats facing endangered animals are caused by humans. In 2020, researchers sounded the alarm for more than 500 species of vertebrates “on the brink of extinction” within the next 20 years. This extinction crisis is being driven first and foremost by human activity.

Poaching, wildlife trafficking, and hunting all put animals at risk, but there is an even more daunting threat to endangered species that is being ignored: animal agriculture. Deforestation, habitat loss, overfishing, global warming, and other issues linked to animal farming are putting wild species in danger of collapse.

As industrial animal farming continues to encroach on the natural world, more and more species are being put in harm’s way. 

Here are some of the incredible creatures we've driven to extinction in the last century and a half, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.

1. West African Black Rhinoceros 

The last West African Black Rhino was seen in Cameroon in 2006. It was declared officially extinct in 2011. 

2. Baiji White Dolphin

3. Pyrenian Ibex 

One of four subspecies of the Spanish Ibex or Iberian Goat that was found in the Iberian Peninsula. The last Pyrenean Ibex was killed by a falling tree in northern Spain in 2000. 

4. Passenger Pigeon 

By the 19th century pigeon meat was commercialized as a cheap food for the poor, which resulted in hunting on a massive scale. The Passenger Pigeon died out in the wild by around 1900, with the last known individual dying in captivity in 1914.

5. Tasmanian Tiger 

Native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, the Tasmanian Tiger was a large carnivorous marsupial.  The last wild Tasmanian Tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920, with the last captive one dying in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania in 1936. 

6. Stellers Sea Cow

Within 27 years of discovery by Europeans, Steller’s Sea Cow was hunted to extinction. 

7. Great Auk 

A large and flightless bird found in the North Atlantic and as far south as Northern Spain. The last of these birds was killed by three men who caught it on St Kilda, Scotland in 1844. When a large storm surged, they believed that the auk was a witch and was causing the storm, so they killed it.

8. Dodo 

 The bird was hunted to extinction by sailors and their domesticated animals, and invasive species. The last widely accepted sighting of a Dodo was in 1662.

9. Woolly Mammoth 

The Woolly Mammoth eventually disappeared 10,000 years ago through a combination of hunting by humans and the disappearance of its habitat through climate change. The last of the isolated woolly mammoth populations is believed to have vanished from Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean around 1700BC.

10. Sabre-Toothed Cat

11. Bramble Cay Melomys

These little guys were officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2015. Native to Bramble Cay, a small island near the northern side of the Great Barrier Reef, it's reported that the rodents haven't been spotted since way back in 2009. 

12. Spix Macaw 

The Spix Macaw went extinct in the wild due to habitat destruction, illegal trapping and trade.

13. Quagga

The Quagga was native to South Africa and went extinct in the late 19th century. For a long time, the quagga was thought to be its own species before it was discovered that it was closely related to the Plains Zebra and was, in fact, a subspecies of the zebra.

Humans hunted the quagga to extinction.

14. The Golden Toad 

The small toad was last seen in 1989 in a Costa Rican rainforest before being declared extinct in 1994. 

15. Zanzibar Leopard

The leopard went extinct thanks to the belief that these animals were kept by witches; for this reason, locals aggressively hunted them.

16. Po'ouli (Native Hawai Bird ) 

17. Madeiran Large White 

The stunning Madeiran Large White butterfly was found in the valleys of the Laurisilva forests on Portugal's Madeira Islands. 

18. Tecopa Pupfish 

The Tecopa pupfish, a native of the hot springs of the Mojave Desert, has the distinction of being the first animal declared extinct under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The pupfish's decline was precipitated when its natural habitat was encroached upon by developers.

19. Falkland Islands Wolf 

The Falkland Islands wolf went extinct in the late 1800s and was also known as the Antarctic wolf and the Falkland Islands fox.

20. Javan Tiger 

21. Round Island Burrowing Boa

the introduction of non-native species of rabbits and goats to the island destroyed vegetation and upset the boa's habitat, leading to its eventual extinction.

22. Pinta Island Tortoise 

23. Dutch Alcon Blue Butterfly 

In our next chapter we shall take a look at the species in risk of extinction. 

HUMAN INDUCED CAUSES OF EXTINCTION

Current rates of human-induced extinctions are estimated to be about 1,000 times greater than past natural (background) rates of extinction, leading some scientists to call modern times the sixth mass extinction.

 This high extinction rate is largely due to the exponential growth in human numbers: growing from about 1 billion in 1850, the world’s population reached 2 billion in 1930 and more than 7.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach about 10 billion by 2050. As a result of increasing human populations, habitat loss is the greatest factor in current levels of extinction. 

Here we take a look at some of the human-induced causes of extinction: 

1. Over harvesting 

Humans use thousands of the world’s species in their daily lives for food, shelter, and medicine. But these natural resources are limited. People can take only so many fish from the sea or cut down so many acres of forests without permanently damaging ecosystems and threatening species. For many species, this “overharvesting” may mean total extinction.

2. Habitat Loss 

When people cut down forests, build cities, or make roads, they destroy habitats–the places where plants, animals, and other organisms live.

3. Pollution 

Acid rain destroys forests. Oil spills kill coastal plants and animals. Poisons wash into waterways. Plastic trash entangles wildlife. It’s easy to see how pollution is a big problem for biodiversity.

Thank you Ted Decker from our Facebook Family for your input: 

"The mere fact that today we are surrounded by all animals, prove they have survived climate change for 4 million years. I don't think we have to worry. The problem is that man's garbage is contributing to the escalation of the process, not causing it." 

REFERENCE: 

John L. Gittleman

Dean of the graduate faculty at the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology. Editor of Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution; co-editor of Carnivore Conservation.

REASONS / CAUSES OF EXTINCTION

 In this chapter we shall brush through some of the causes or reasons of extinction. In our next chapter however, we shall look at the human induced causes in depth. 

1. Habitat Loss 

The most common cause of endangerment is habitat loss. Plants and animals need space to live and energy provided by food, just as humans do. As human population and consumption increase, wildlife habitat is converted to houses and highways. Forests are cut down for building materials, fuel, and paper.

Even if habitat is not completely destroyed, it can be fragmented or degraded so much that it can no longer support the species it once did.

Many species, particularly large mammals, need large areas of habitat to survive and reproduce. Patches of forest or grassland surrounded by farms or cities, or divided by roads, will not support these species. 

2. Changes in the Atmosphere 

We know little about how changes in our atmosphere, such as global warming or ozone depletion, is affecting other life forms. However it is becoming more apparent every day that climate change is, and will have a significant impact on the planets species.

3. Diseases 

Disease and insect infestations, which are natural and nonthreatening phenomena in many ecosystems, can deal a death blow to populations weakened or depleted by other pressures.

4. Climatic Heating and Cooling

Climate Change is caused by a number of things. The effect that climate has on extinction is very big. The biodiverse Earth can't keep up with the rapid changes in temperature and climate. The species are not used to severe weather conditions and long seasons, or a changing chemical make-up of their surroundings. As more species die, it is only making it more difficult for the survivors to find food. The warmer climates we are used to present-day are perfect for diseases and epidemics to thrive.

5. Changes in the Sea levels of Currents 

The changes in sea levels and currents is a result, in part, of the melting freshwater. The denser, saltier water sinks and forms the currents that marine life depends on. Ocean floor spreading and rising also affects sea level. A small rise in the ocean floor can displace a lot of water onto land that is all ready occupied. The gases from the volcanic activity can also be absorbed by the water, thus changing the chemical composition, making it unsuitable for some life.

6. Asteroids/ Cosmic Radiation 

Asteroids hit the earth with extreme force. The reverberations can be felt around the world. The impact site is completely destroyed.

Cosmic Radiation is radiation being emitted from outer space and the Sun. It is hypothesized that being exposed to too much cosmic radiation can mutate genes, which can potentially weaken a species' genepool in the future. Since the radiation comes from space and the Sun, it is extremely difficult to avoid the radiation. Supernova remnants is one source of cosmic radiation.

7. Acid Rain 

Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide and/or nitrogen oxides are put out into the atmosphere. The chemicals get absorbed by water droplets in the clouds, and eventually fall to the earth as acid precipitation. Acid rain increases the acidity of the soil which affects plant life. It can also disturb rivers and lakes to a possibly lethal level.

RANKS OF EXTINCTION

 Since we have now defined what extinction is, in this chapter we shall look briefly into the ranks of extinction. 

Rates of extinction vary widely. 

During the last 100,000 years of the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), some 40 percent of the existing genera of large mammals in Africa and more than 70 percent in North America, South America, and Australia went extinct. 

Ecologists estimate that the present-day extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times the background extinction rate (between one and five species per year) because of deforestation, habitat loss, overhunting, pollution, climate change, and other human activities—the sum total of which will likely result in the loss of between 30 and 50 percent of extant species by the middle of the 21st century.

Although extinction is an ongoing feature of Earth’s flora and fauna (the vast majority of species ever to have lived are extinct), the fossil record reveals five unusually large extinctions, each involving the demise of vast numbers of species. These conspicuous declines in diversity are referred to as mass extinctions; they are distinguished from the majority of extinctions, which occur continually and are referred to as background extinction. 

Ranked in descending order of severity, they are: 

1. Permian extinction (about 265.1 million to about 251.9 million years ago), the most dramatic die-off, eliminating about half of all families, some 95 percent of marine species (nearly wiping out brachiopods and corals), and about 70 percent of land species (including plants, insects, and vertebrates).
2. Ordovician-Silurian extinction (about 443.8 million years ago), which included about 25 percent of marine families and 85 percent of marine species, with brachiopods, conodonts, bryozoans, and trilobites suffering greatly.
3. Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T), or Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg), extinction (about 66.0 million years ago), involving about 80 percent of all animal species, including the dinosaurs and many species of plants. Although many scientists contend that this event was caused by one or more large comets or asteroids striking Earth, others maintain that it was caused by climatic changes associated with the substantial volcanic activity of the time.
4. End-Triassic extinction (about 201.3 million years ago), possibly caused by rapid climate change or by an asteroid striking Earth. This mass extinction event caused about 20 percent of marine families and some 76 percent of all extant species to die out, possibly within a span of about 10,000 years, thus opening up numerous ecological niches into which the dinosaurs evolved.
5. Devonian extinctions (407.6 million to about 358.9 million years ago), which included 15–20 percent of marine families and 70–80 percent of all animal species. Roughly 86 percent of marine brachiopod species perished, along with many corals, conodonts, and trilobites.

https://www.the-sol-foundation.org/

REFERENCES:

John L. Gittleman

Dean of the graduate faculty at the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology. Editor of Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution; co-editor of Carnivore Conservation.

ANIMAL EXTINCTION

 What is Extinction?

According to biology; Extinction occurs when species are diminished because of environmental forces or because of evolutionary changes in their members. 

Extinction simply is the condition that arises from the death of the last surviving individual of a species, group or gene globally or locally.

Extinction is an evolutive process that leads to the disappearance of a species or a population. When a species becomes extinct, its entire genetic heritage is lost for good. 

With evolution, a species can become another in order to adapt to the small environmental changes or due to casual changes in its genetic heritage. This process is known as speciation, in other words the birth of a new species. 

Speciation and extinction are both part of the natural evolutive process of living beings. The great extinctions in history, in fact, were accompanied by the formation of new species that have given continuity and vigor to the diversities of life. 

Normally two types of extinction may be classified. There is the background extinction that is the slow and, for us, imperceptible trend of the living creatures to transform constantly. And then there is the episodic extinction, with massive and concomitant deaths of species, triggered by rapid changes in the environment. In general, the extinctions that contributed most to the drastic changes in the flora and fauna in the earth’s history, were of the second type. Some extreme events took place on a vast scale during the course of the geological eras, like climate changes or the impact of our planet with comets and asteroids, which translated into environmental perturbations that were so radical that there were not many possibilities of escape for a multitude of organisms. At various times of the Earth’s history, these phenomena have been very severe limiting factors for the survival of the species, and at times these have drastically cut biodiversity in entire geographic regions, causing the so-called mass extinctions.