Next time you come across a Sumatran Orangutan or a Wild Bactrian Camel, don’t be in a hurry. Take a pause, watch it thoroughly and if possible, get a snap as well. You may not see it anymore from the next decade.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has listed 3071 ‘critically endangered’ species in the world and according to IUCN, we may not see some of them in the next decade.
The list includes Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii), Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii), Wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus), Dama Gazelle (Gazella dama), Seychelles Sheath-Tailed Bat (Coleura seychellensis), Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis), Black Rhinoceros(Diceros bicornis), Pied Tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) and Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea).
According to experts, geologic history has witnessed five great “mass extinctions” and we are now going through the “sixth wave of extinction”, considered a man-made situation.
Extinction is a natural process where some species disappear to pave way for other new species, which is known as ‘background extinction’. But according to some experts, what is alarming is that the current extinction rate is a whopping 10,000 times higher than the usual background extinction rate.
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