If you felt sorry for the dinosaurs, consider this. At this very moment, we’re in a period of mass extinction that’s actually WORSE than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. More species go extinct at this very moment than during the last days of the dinosaur! It took the dinosaurs thousands of years to die out. Today, the speed of extinction is much higher. Each day, an estimated seventy species die off. Never to be seen again.

 In nature, everything is linked to everything else. Everything that is alive relies on other living things. What would we eat if it wasn’t for our crops and livestock? And what would we breathe? It would take a library of information to explain whats happening to the animals and the plants on our planet. But for now, some highlights will do, just to show you how serious matters are.

The Snow Leopard

Remember Afghanistan? In 2002, the US army used cluster bombs and oxygen sucking fuel bombs to rid the Afghan caves of Al Qaida bad guys. Unfortunately, something else was hiding in there too. That was the snow leopard, one of the rarest animals in the world. The animal has probably gone extinct in Afghanistan by now -- a by-product of war. Few people know of it. And even fewer seem to care.

The Case of the Cat

 Where I live, there are more cats than people!  All those cats catch lots of birds and mice and rats and butterflies. Biologically speaking, cats are eating a huge hole in the food chain. Seriously!  According to several alarming reports, this is exactly what is happening in countries like the US, United Kingdom, Sweden and Holland. Bird species are vanishing, mouse subspecies are going extinct. In New Zealand and Australia, the cats gobble up rare birds and mammals. Such as the little kiwi bird. The poor thing doesn’t even has wings! Evolution thought that without cats, there was no need for wings. But evolution got it wrong. All because of the many billions of domestic cats that inhabit the planet today.

 
The Case Of The Panda

 We like animals. That’s why we can’t stand it the Bonobo monkey and the Giant Panda are about to go extinct. No way we’ll let the beautiful lion, the cute chimpanzee or the impressive elephant go extinct! We build another natural reserve. But, In fact, the species we adore most are only a slight minority. Who cares for snails,  insects, snakes, lice, or spiders? These species are in trouble, too. But they’re just not cute enough. Humans simply don’t like them. We’ll let them go extinct, and won’t miss a night’s sleep over it.‘Survival of the cutest’, is the word for that. Biologists use it sometimes when they argue that we’re protecting the wrong species. On our lists of ‘endangered species’, there are plenty of beautiful and furry and funny animals. But no snails, cockroaches or flees. Not to mention the microbes, that are by far the most important species on Earth.

 
The Case of the Dead Frog

It is a mystery. Everywhere in the world, frogs are dying. There seems to be no specific reason for it. Everywhere around, they’re just kicking the bucket, for no apparent reason. It could be pollution. It could be the hole in the ozone layer. It could be a fungus. It could be acid rain. It could be all these things combined. Whatever the reason, biologists are very worried. Apart from the fact that a frogless world would be a rather empty place, the frog problem could be some kind of warning. Frogs are known to be quite vulnerable. Now its the Honey Bees that are dying. So who’s next? Us?

Invasion Of The Rabbits

 They invaded a place where nature never meant them to be. Well, `invaded’ isn’t the right word, really. Humans brought them over. The Dutch brought their cats to Australia. The British took foxes and dogs to New Zealand. The Vikings introduced the cute rabbit in Scotland. The gypsies took the gypsy moth to the US. And now, there’s trouble all over the place. There aren’t suppose to be any of these predators in the US. There aren’t suppose to be any gypsy moths. Nature just didn’t plan it that way. So disaster strikes. In the US, about a fourth of the agricultural gross national product is lost each year to foreign plant pests such as the dreaded boll weevil (from Mexico) and the leafy spurge (brought by Europeans). In New Zealand, Australia, Scotland and many other countries, zillions of rabbits drive the locals insane, digging about like crazy.

It isn’t a nice thing to say, but the real problem is mankind. Humans are in the habit of messing up everything they do, everywhere they go, all of the time.