Species Extinction

Species Extinction

Just to illustrate the degree of biodiversity loss we're facing, let’s take you through one scientific analysis...

The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.*

These experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year.

If the low estimate of the number of species out there is true - i.e. that there are around 2 million different species on our planet** -  then that means between 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year.

But if the upper estimate of species numbers is true - that there are 100 million different species co-existing with us on our planet - then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are becoming extinct each year.

*Experts actually call this natural extinction rate the background extinction rate. This simply means the rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around.

** Between 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been scientifically identified

Some Animals that are in Danger of Extinction

          Polar Bears

                       Tigers

                       Elephants

                       Rhinos

                       Gorilla

                       Giant Panda

                       Marine Turtle