Animals have fallen by more than half since 1970, the new great extinction is coming?

Scientists warn that by 2020, the amount of wildlife is only one-third higher than it was in 1970 with the rate of decline being at 2% per year and there is no sign of slowing down. If things keep going like that, it won't be long before there will be a lot of animals that our descendants can only know through books or specimens in the museum. More seriously, we humans are also species that share the habitat on Earth and the survival of mankind will certainly be seriously threatened.

Specifically, scientists at the Wildlife Protection Fund (WWF) conducted a re-statistics based on 14,152 populations of 3706 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles around the world. . The results showed that by 2012, the amount of wildlife decreased by 58% compared to the year 1970 with an average reduction of 2%. There is no sign of slowdown in decline and therefore, by 2020, vertebrate populations may be reduced by 67% without reversing the situation.

African elephants in Tanzania have been severely reduced in numbers due to hunting.

The figures do not raise concerns among scientists about a global "mass extinction" wave - an event like the extinct dinosaurs that disappeared from Earth. Not only is the destruction of the living environment, poaching is also one of the main causes of a serious decline in the number of wildlife.

Typically, African elephants in Tanzania have been severely reduced in numbers due to hunting. Similarly, the Brazilian mane wolf is also on the brink of extinction due to exploitation of cultivated land or European eels are also about to disappear due to disease, overfishing and habitat change.

It can be seen that the decline in the number of individuals in wildlife species has a significant impact on encroachment on habitats, the recovery of agricultural land, fishing, mining activities and many impacts. other human. On the other hand, animal populations are also affected by climate change, pollution and excessive resource exploitation.

European eels are also about to disappear due to epidemics and overfishing.

Not only are the new wildlife species affected but humans are also "victims" in the increasingly bad conditions of nature, which are a source of breathing, drinking water or food for children. people. While the average number of wildlife is declining, there are still some species of some living conditions with population growth. Some mammals that live in grasslands in Africa have seen slight growth since 2004 thanks to conservation efforts. Even so, the number of birds here continues to decline.

Overall, the number of terrestrial species that have been allocated from grasslands to forests has been reduced by 2/5 since 1970. Worse, freshwater animals have been reduced to 4/5 only in in the period of 1970 - 2012. Biological populations in submerged areas have increased slightly since 2005 and marine life has been stable in quantity since 1988. However, this report warns that it is still real. catch status of overexploitation threatens the number of marine organisms.

Mane wolf in Brazil is also on the brink of extinction due to cultivated land.

Mike Barrett, director of the science and policy division at WWF, said: "For the first time since the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago, we continue to face mass extinctions against the world. We have overlooked the decline of species in this life without knowing it is a measure of human impact on our own environment. who abused natural resources, pushed irreplaceable species to the brink of extinction, threatening our climate stability. "

He said that if serious acts of intrusion into the natural world are not restrained or terminated, not only will they lose wild species, but humans will also face the danger of extinction. Hopefully, human beings will be more aware of the living environment together so that our planet will remain green. Otherwise, not only will our children and grandchildren look at animals through pictures, TV screens and even their own existence cannot be sure.