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Dec. 30, 2022This skullcap from an American bison shows a partially healed bullet hole from a large calibre buffalo rifle. At the end of the 19th century, the species was at the brink of extinction. Skeletal remains like this filled the Great Plains. Contrary to the two other bison species hunted to extinction in prehistoric times, this species is still around, thanks to tenacious efforts to save it.
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Dec. 30, 2022The tragic fate of the great auk shows hos overexploitation of species can exterminate whole species in record time. The great auk laid a single egg per year, and the population had no chance of recovering once sailing ships started plowing the northern seas, and the crews went looking for fresh meat.
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Dec. 30, 2022Ever more humans need ever more room. While Madagascar is among the largest islands of the World, with almost 30 million Malagasy there is hardly anything left of the Tapia forests where the amazingly beautiful comet moth lives. The species is critically endangered.
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Dec. 30, 2022Fossils, like this skull from the Eurasian dirk toothed cat Xenosmilus, shows species and even ecosystems have been threatened before. Such crisis, whether natural or manmade, primarily hit species that are large, highly specialized or occupy the top of the food chain.
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Dec. 30, 2022Some animal groups are threatened for the most absurd reasons, like the pangolins. The skin is used in traditional Eastern medicine in the belief that the shield-shaped scales protects the kidneys. This is obviously balderdash, but a common enough belief that the whole family may face extinction.
