Endangered Species

All the Species Declared Extinct This Decade

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All the Species Declared Extinct This Decade

Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, died in 2012. George’s story is the perfect extinction story. It features a charismatic character with a recognizable face, an obvious villain, and the tireless efforts of naturalists.

The population of the Pinta Island tortoise species was decimated by whalers hunting and eating them during the 19th century. Zoologist József Vágvölgyi discovered George in 1971 and brought him into captivity. No other Pinta Island Tortoises have since been found. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the species extinct in the wild in 1996, while researchers attempted to breed George with other tortoises to at least preserve his genetic material. But George died—of natural causes—sparking news stories about his life and legacy, which media outlets continue to cover to this day.

But George’s story is not a typical story. Perhaps a better mascot of the extinction crisis is Plectostoma sciaphilum; a small snail, called a “microjewel” for its beautiful, intricate shell, that inhabited a single limestone hill in Malaysia. During the 2000s, a cement company wiped the hill off the map for its valuable resources, rendering the “microjewel” snail extinct.

Spotlight News – DEC proposes to remove bald eagle from “threatened” list

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Spotlight News – DEC proposes to remove bald eagle from “threatened” list

Eastern Hellbender will be increased in protection from special concern to threatened species, while the Bald Eagle will no longer be threatened but will be of special concern. I think this is good from a species protection perspective -- we should only be protecting those needed to be protected, and adding and removing species based on their recovery or loss.

A Declining Species –

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A Declining Species –

Amphibians are among the most imperiled animals on earth, with almost half of all species declining, and, according to a new UN report, about 40% are now at risk of extinction. Some estimates are that the current rate of amphibian extinctions range anywhere from 211 to over 45,000 times faster than what is considered “normal” in the 300 million years amphibians have existed. The reasons for these extinctions vary, with habitat destruction and the spread of chytrid fungus, as well as other pathogens being major factors. Here in the Great Northern Forests, we are very fortunate in that none of our reptile or amphibian species have gone completely extinct in recent centuries (so far as anybody knows). But there have been extirpations (localized extinctions), and plenty of species are losing numbers and territory. While most of Vermont’s 22 species of frog and salamander remain common, there is good reason to believe we have lost at least one species so far, and it was practically gone before we even knew it existed here.