THE VANISHING

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The last Mammut dies in north siberia.

At the end of 1500, European countries start to build colonies oversees.

1627: The last Aurochs died in Poland.
It is the ancestor of the domestic cattle.

1690: Hunting, the destruction of their habitat and the introduction of new animals by European sailors on the island Mauritius leads to the extinction of the Dodo.

1770: The industriell revolution starts in Britain.

1878: The Quagga, a subspecies from the zebra, was hunted for its meat and skin in south Africa till the last died in the end of 19th century.

1922: California Grizzly Bear - The most iconic Animal of California, you can even find it on the flag of the state, got hunted down.

1936: In a zoo in Tasmania, Australia,
died the last Thylacine - Tasmanian Tiger.

1970: The discharge of detergents, fertilizers, or sewage leads to the extinction of the Lake Constance whitefish.

Between 1975 and 2015 the population of most of the animals living on land got reduced by 60%!

2005: In lakes and the sea the population even decreased in about 80%!

THE VANISHING

There always has been mass extinctions in the history of this planet. Some were caused by a meteor, some by an ice time  and others by the eruption of a volcano. But the mass extinction we are facing today is different. It’s not made by natural forces. It’s made by us, human beings. The human population grows larger with every year. We take up more space, which undoubtably affects our wildlife. Overhunting, Overharvesting, destruction of habitat, pollution, new species introduction and competition, human-wildlife conflict, traditional medicine, climate change and trophy hunting are reasons that make us responsible for the danger wildlife is exposed to. What once had been a diverse paradise of plants and animals, is now a critically endangered environment. Since 1500, the extinction of species has speeded up 14 times faster than in the centuries before. Since 1900 it increased to 28 times. Each animal you just saw disappearing is endangered. They stand as a symbol for a species that we once lost and we can never bring back again.

POLARBEAR
Ursus maritimus

Polar Bears live only around the arctic basin and spend 50% of it’s time hunting for food. Seals are important preys that provide fat and nutritions which enable the bear to go a few months without food.
They only catch one or two out of ten seals. Because of climate change the arctic ice is melting drastically which complicates the hunt.
If there’s no ice floe, there’s no hunt. Often they have to swim long distances in order to survive, many of them die from drowning. Human hunts are also responsible for many deaths. In Russia anybody can legally hunt polarbears. They usually sell their precious skin, hides, fur and meat.

LION
Panthera leo

By 2050 the Lion in the wild could be extinct. About 50 years ago, there lived 450’000 Lions. Today there are only about 20’000 left. About five wild lions are killed every day throughout Africa. The main threats are habitat loss, loss of their prey base to the bushmeat trade, human-lion conflict and sport-hunting. Trophy hunters, mostly Americans, kill about 600 lions per year.

YANGTZE FINLESS PORPOISE
Neophocaena phocaenoides

The Yangtze Finless Porpoise is known for it’s uplifting smile.
They’re home is the fresh water river Yangtze in China but only 1’000 of them are left. Overfishing leaves fewer fish for the porpoise to hunt.
The increase of sound pollution affects the sonar which is essential for their communication and feeding. Boat collisions, declining water quality, toxic run-off and changing condition caused by dams make the water practically unliveable. Without any urgent action their numbers could well drop below 250 in the next 5 years.

ELEPHANT
Elephantidae

In the 19th century there may have been around 26 million elephants in Africa alone. Today there are less than 500’000 due to poaching.
100’000 African elephants were killed in three years, most of them die for
the illegal ivory trade. The asian elephant used to roam around from the coast of Persia, throughout India, southeast Asia and deep China.
Today they are extinct in the Middle East and most of China.
Their estimated population in Asia is at 50’000. New births are unable to keep pace with the killings,they are doomed to extinct.

BEE
Anthophila

Without the bee our supermarkets would be reduced to half of it’s products. They play one of the most and maybe even the most important part in our fragile eco-system. In Germany alone more than 50% of the 561 bee species are endangered due to the destruction of their nesting places. Industrial agriculture with monocultures, the use of chemical insecticides, the destruction of wild-plants or even just the cleaning of public green-fields or your very own garden are human made threats to bees. The preference of a diverse garden with many wild flowers over a clipped lawn is crucial for their surviving.

MOUNTAIN GORILLA
Gorilla beringei beringei

The mountain Gorilla lives in the highlands of Uganda, Rwanda and east DR Congo. The estimated population is by only 880 in total. The growth of human population requires more space, therefore forests are being cut down. This leads to the loss of the their natural habitat.
The introduction of human diseases and poaching makes them one of the most endangered species in the world.

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ENDANGERED ANIMALS