The 6th Extinction
As human populations have grown, so has the demand for wildlife. People in many countries are accustomed to a lifestyle which fuels demand for wildlife. They expect access to a variety of seafoods, leather goods, timbers, medicinal ingredients and textiles. At the other end, extreme poverty means some people see wildlife as valuable barter for trade.
Poaching
Wild Whale Fishing
Illegal Hunted Elephant Ivory
Gorilla Hunting
Rhino with horn cut off
Smuggled Pangolin
Chiru Fur
The world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains. Ivory estimated to weigh more than 23 metric tons—a figure that represents 2,500 elephants—was seized in the 13 largest seizures of illegal ivory in 2011.
Poaching threatens the last of our wild tigers that number around 3,890. Illegal wildlife trade is driven by high profit margins and, in many cases, the high prices paid for rare species.
Human & The Extinction of Species
One in four species are at risk of extinction
Species assessed by IUCN Red List
Human activities are to blame, including population growth, increased resource consumption and climate change spurred by fossil fuel burning and the release of greenhouse gases.
The Sixth Extinction
In the 1990s, paleontologist and famed conservationist Richard Leakey warned that human activity was causing a “sixth extinction.”
In the decades since Leakey’s observation, with piles of new supporting evidence, many more researchers have signed on to the idea.
Research >>