This could be the first ever man-made mass extinction since life existed.
Is it already late to save our planet from the sixth mass extinction that scientists have been predicting? According to a new study, the disappearance of animal species in large numbers from the ecosystem is a sign of yet another phase of mass extinction.
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday said that the unprecedented fall in the animal population is a global epidemic and is part of the predicted sixth mass extinction resulted by human interference in nature and the ecosystem.
This could be the first ever man-made mass extinction since life existed; the other five were caused due to natural phenomenon.
Gerardo Ceballos, a researcher at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City said the research paper has been written considering the rate at which animals are wiped off, unlike other academic papers.
“It wouldn’t be ethical right now not to speak in this strong language to call attention to the severity of the problem,” he said.
Ceballos, explaining the reason for bluntly putting the apocalypse in the research paper, said that he and his co-authors Paul R Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo, who are professors at Stanford University, are not pessimists but the scientific data collected have disturbing figures that point to mass extinction of species from all over the world, which till now has been largely left undiscussed by scientists.
The study explains how man-made instabilities in nature have resulted in the loss in huge animal population – chiefly due to habitat degradation, pollution, climate change etc.. The researchers have used a method used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to assess the extent of loss of animal life.
The study revealed that 30 percent of all land vertebrates, which include mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, are facing alarming decline. The study also said that in all parts of the world the mammal population is losing 70 percent of their members due to loss of habitat.
It also highlighted the decline in the number of Cheetahs, Borneo and Sumatran Orangutans that are falling below the red line. Additionally, it said that the number of Africa lions has declined 43percent since 1993.
The study defined populations as the number of individuals in a given species in a 10,000-square-kilometer unit of habitat, known as a quadrat.