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Black Rhino declared extinct.

Archive: 55 posts

WILD black rhinos were declared extinct, according to the latest assessment by experts at a leading conservation group.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said the western black rhino, native to West Africa, no longer exists and claimed that a quarter of all other mammal species are at risk of extinction.
Its updated "red list" of threatened species, the gold standard for animal and plant conservation, classified the Central African white rhino as "possibly extinct in the wild," and the Javan rhino is also making a last stand after Vietnamese poachers killed the last of its subspecies last year.
"Human beings are stewards of the earth, and we are responsible for protecting the species that share our environment," Simon Stuart, head of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, said in a statement.
He added, "In the case of both the western black and the northern white rhinos, the situation could have had very different results if suggested conservation measures had been implemented."

The Red List flags 801 species as extinct, 64 extinct in the wild, 9,568 critically endangered or endangered and 10,002 vulnerable. It's time to stop the killing fields...

Polar Bear - vulnerable
There are 20,000 bears left but global warming is melting their icy habitat and they're expected to die off within 100 years.

Black Rhino - critically endangered
Numbers declined by 97.6% since 1960 due to poaching but have now doubled to 4,800. The Northern White Rhino is extinct in the wild and the Southern White rhino is now threatened with decline.

Tiger - endangered
Numbers have declined by over 50% since the 1970s, with 3,000 left. Poaching and habitat loss means animals in the wild continue to die out.

Bluefin Tuna - critically endangered
Intensively fished since the 1950s for the Japanese market, spawning stock has declined by 85% in 36 years and is not rebuilding.

Water Buffalo - endangered
Interbreeding with domestic buffalo, the spread of agriculture and hunting for its horns means there are less than 4,000 wild buffalo left.

Calumma Tarzan Lizard - critically endangerd
The lizard lives outside protected areas on Madagascar, an island where 40% of amphibians are threatened by farming and logging.

Asian Elephant - endangered
Poaching for tusks and the spread of agriculture has halved numbers over the past three generations and there are now only 50,000 left.

Dama Gazelle - critically endangered
Hunting by shooting parties from the Gulf states has led to an 80% decline across the Sahara and numbers are down to 500.

Sea Turtle - critically endangered
With an 80% fall in nesting in the Pacific's Leatherback sea turtle, poaching and fishing nets have forced numbers down to 30,000.

Hippopotamus - vulnerable
Loss of habitat and growing human populations are driving hippos away. There are 148,000 left in East Africa but numbers are falling.

European Mink - critically endangered
Over-exploited for fur last century. Habitat loss and interbreeding with American mink has left 1,000 in Spain and a few hundred in France.
It really is horrific.

http://www.news.com.au/world/western-black-rhino-declared-extinct/story-e6frfkyi-1226192014993#ixzz1dU4rrGoW

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/11/11/black-rhino-extinct-in-west-africa-in-new-red-list-what-animals-will-disappear-next-115875-23553018/		2011-11-12 10:07:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

I suddenly really hate the human race. We're so selfish, and we're willing to murder so many different species of animals just to get what we want? This makes me sick..2011-11-12 10:26:00

Author:
Super_Clone
Posts: 849

It really is horrific.



Not the right section, but thanks.
That's horrible and people must know what they're doing to the envyronment.		2011-11-12 10:34:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer
Posts: 5112

Not the rhinos. D:2011-11-12 12:59:00

Author:
Unknown User

I won't let the Hippo's down > LET DEM LIVE!2011-11-12 14:07:00

Author:
DominationMags
Posts: 1840

I suddenly really hate the human race. We're so selfish, and we're willing to murder so many different species of animals just to get what we want? This makes me sick..Seeing as you opened this can of worms...

mur?der noun
1. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law.

Also... http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=111		2011-11-12 14:09:00

Author:
MMLgamer
Posts: 183

Seeing as you opened this can of worms...

mur?der noun
1. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law.

Also... http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=111

I think what Super_Clone meant by murder was killing without compassion or empathy for said animal.

Also, that article is seriously outdated, From what i skim read it's saying that "It was fine to kill everything in the past, Why isn't it fine to kill everything now?" which.. to be frank, Is stupidity.		2011-11-12 16:52:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

If only people weren't so blind. They should see what they're doing. It's the equivalent of an alien species of corn rampaging the entire globe and shooting people for no apparent reason whatsoever. Seriously, this needs to stop. There are already enough problems in the current world, and we could at least try and fix one. Not to be a pessimist, of course. We can and will fix this.2011-11-12 17:30:00

Author:
Sackpapoi
Posts: 1195

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu78/SnipySev/mother_gaia_by_humon-d3fh24i.jpg2011-11-12 18:11:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I think what Super_Clone meant by murder was killing without compassion or empathy for said animal.

Also, that article is seriously outdated, From what i skim read it's saying that "It was fine to kill everything in the past, Why isn't it fine to kill everything now?" which.. to be frank, Is stupidity.
In other words, he misused the word murder in order to over-personify non-humans in the attempt to create a morality that is self-loathing in nature.

Kind of like your exaggerative use of the phrase "kill everything" to refer to hunting which people did in order to feed and clothe themselves throughout entire human history. Just because you call it stupidity, doesn't make it stupid.		2011-11-12 18:23:00

Author:
MMLgamer
Posts: 183

They should have learnt how to use guns then.2011-11-12 19:16:00

Author:
Unknown User

Oh Alex, that me KBALOL (Kick Back And Laugh Out Loud)
I was prepared to come in with a rant/opinion along the lines of SnipySev's cartoon, but now see I don't need to. That comic pretty much states it. This planet has been here for millions of years and all kinds of species have come and gone. New species are discovered everyday and another one dies out. It's the life cycle. Countless thousands of species have become extinct and guess what? We're still here, the Earth has somehow survived without these animals. Anyone miss the dinosaur? How about the Quagga? It went extinct in the late 1800's, do you even know what a Quagga is? It's half horse/half zebra. Do you miss it? Did the ecosystem collapse because of it's extinct status? How about some new discoveries this year? We've got Darwin's Dark Spider that can spin a web 82 feet across! discovered for the first time in 2011.

What else do we have?
Pancake Batfish. The batfish walks on thick fins, very awkwardly – hence its name, as its gait is reminiscent of a walking bat's.
Raspy Cricket
Walter's Duiker - a tiny new antelope
Varanus bitatawa - a newly discovered monitor lizard
a new species of Dolphin was also discovered this year. The list goes on and on. Here, read this quote:


Scientists' best guess is that all species discovered since 1758 represent less than 20 percent of the plants and animals living on Earth, said Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist who directs the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.
"A reasonable estimate is that 10 million species remain to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood," he said.
Pretty impressive when you think about it. Here we are looking for life on other worlds, but there is so much left undiscovered right here, under our noses. Or inside them, as it were.

Now don't get ole Bio wrong. I'm an animal lover and I can't stand to see animals abused. And while it is sad that the Wild Black Rhino has gone extinct (although later in the article it says they are endangered and have a population of 4,800) the world will still turn and humans will still continue to hunt animals. I'm also an avid hunter and fishermen. I don't trophy hunt, I food hunt. That deer or wild hog meat goes straight to the freezer. Trust me, the real endangered species on this planet is the Human Being.		2011-11-12 20:25:00

Author:
biorogue
Posts: 8424

Despite all the fuss the above posts have made regaurding the significance of this loss, Rhinos are my favourite animal, and hearing how theyre being killed off species by species is upsettting. This thread wasnt made to discuss the errors of the human race in the ways of hunting and poaching, it was made to inform everyone that we just lost another interesting species of animal. I dont want to sound like a mod here, but can we drop all this crap about murder and get back on topic here? Please?2011-11-12 20:34:00

Author:
grayspence
Posts: 1990

Wild Black Rhino has gone extinct (although later in the article it says they are endangered and have a population of 4,800)

There was 4 subspecies of Black Rhino (now 3) the West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) is the extinct one, the East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli), South-western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) and South-central (Diceros bicornis minor) make up the population refered to.		2011-11-12 20:50:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

In around 330 years 75% of all mammal species will be gone. (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/03/02/species-census-yes-the-6th-mass-extinction-is-happening-now/)


We don't realize that we need to change until it's too late.		2011-11-12 21:04:00

Author:
Alec
Posts: 3871

I wish I could extinct humanity, for reals.2011-11-12 21:30:00

Author:
VenemoX
Posts: 197

I wish I could extinct humanity, for reals.
...
You mean that 4 billion years of evolution will be gone forever?

Why not wish that you could teach everyone about how we could stop extinction and live a life that is better for the environment? OR instead of wishing, actually teach people about it?

I usually think of it like this: There are two kind of people in this world, one who gets up and do something about the problem and one who waits for someone else to solve the problem. Sadly I'm the one that waits for someone else to solve it:/		2011-11-12 22:30:00

Author:
Alec
Posts: 3871

In around 330 years 75% of all mammal species will be gone. (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/03/02/species-census-yes-the-6th-mass-extinction-is-happening-now/)


We don't realize that we need to change until it's too late.

Or to be more exact, we do realize it (or those estimates wouldn't exist) but we, in general, choose to not give a dang. Some of us are too ignorant. Some are too lazy. Some think their contribution would be irrelevant to the bigger picture so they worry to a certain degree but don't end up doing a thing. The majority just doesn't care because hey, we will all be dead in 300 years (chances are). Some are even frivolous enough to think our grandchildren should deal with our own cursed legacy.

When we discovered that we were increasingly screwing up the very environment we need to a point of no return, the practices of consumerism and use of disposable commodities were already deeply rooted into our daily lives. And if anything's too slow to change for the best it's the mindsets of our society.		2011-11-12 23:13:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I wish I could extinct humanity, for reals.
O.O you wish to extinct the human race?		2011-11-13 04:29:00

Author:
biorogue
Posts: 8424

O.O you wish to extinct the human race?

Yeah. Ever since we were put on this planet we have only affected in a negative way, If I was Mother Nature, I'd throw all humans into hell.		2011-11-13 10:09:00

Author:
VenemoX
Posts: 197

We humans are despicable. As the most advanced species on the planet we should protect the creatures of this world. Killing animals just for a few days of luxury is not worth it.

We need to save our planet!		2011-11-13 11:03:00

Author:
TNSv
Posts: 302

Yeah. Ever since we were put on this planet we have only affected in a negative way, If I was Mother Nature, I'd throw all humans into hell.

If you want the extinction of humanity are you going to help out and leave early?		2011-11-13 11:26:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I don't think its fair to the animals, mostly because we're animals ourselves. If we get to kill them, they should be able to kill us, too. I would try to help, but Im only 13 so it won't make a difference 2011-11-13 14:18:00

Author:
DominationMags
Posts: 1840

I don't think its fair to the animals, mostly because we're animals ourselves. If we get to kill them, they should be able to kill us, too. I would try to help, but Im only 13 so it won't make a difference

They were able to kill us, many eras ago. Then we got smart and they didn't. Some say we became different than the animals when the titan Prometheus gave us fire, and with it, knowledge. Some say evolution gave us bipedal bodies, bigger brains and opposable thumbs. Some say we were a god's best creation all along.
Personally, I think this last hypothesis is the least probable. No god would have a screwed up race like ours as his best creation.		2011-11-13 15:47:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

As much as some here state their unending love to all these animals I find it quite amusing that some of you also hate humans which are your brothers and sisters, family and friends. Seems a bit self righteous to me, especially since I assume you would pick yourselves to "stay on".

Not saying I hate animals, but if there were an angry hungry tiger in my house threatening my family, I can bet you I would do my best to remove the tiger with any means possible. Same if a crazed human was running around killing innocent animals.

..and I am quite happy I don't own anything made with rare black rhino tusks. My point being this. Take your battles to the ones that actually deserve it rather than lumping in all of humanity. Those are some of the gross generalities that have always been such problems on this earth.		2011-11-13 16:43:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

If we get to kill them, they should be able to kill us, too.

They're working on it http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/13/us-belarus-fox-idUSTRE70C5Q620110113		2011-11-13 18:23:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Ideally our home planet would be left pristine so we have something to reminisce about on our interstellar adventures.2011-11-13 18:27:00

Author:
Ayneh
Posts: 2454

Ideally our home planet would be left pristine so we have something to reminisce about on our interstellar adventures.

But we need to drill it all up and expel toxic gas on the atmosphere so we can get fuels and go on interstellar adventures in the first place! 		2011-11-13 18:38:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

But we need to drill it all up and expel toxic gas on the atmosphere so we can get fuels and go on interstellar adventures in the first place!
I'd rather have an area stripped of resources to build rockets or space elevators or mass drivers or whatever than be squandered on other things.

It's totally worth it, by the way.


At 1997 prices, a relatively small metallic asteroid with a diameter of 1.6 km (0.99 mi) contains more than 20 trillion US dollars worth of industrial and precious metals.		2011-11-13 19:02:00

Author:
Ayneh
Posts: 2454

New species are discovered everyday and another one dies out. It's the life cycle.

Your attitude scares me. Our current ecological situation isn't something to brush off as natural. I'm not sure you understand nature at all.

There have been five mass-extinctions in the history of life on Earth as we know it. Of those five, only two have resulted from living things. Photoautotrophs, or plants, were deadly because originally, oxygen was actually poisonous to many creatures. Whether or not you want to believe it, humans are causing the fifth mass extinction. We hold godlike dominion over all other lifeforms, not because we evolved with strong bodies, but because we manipulate the earth around us to make our lives easier. It's called technology - and no other species can do it.

You tell me what's natural about humans possessing an extraordinary advantage over other creatures, and misusing it to the point of mass extinction.

About your 'life cycle' as you put it... You're not looking at the big picture. I can outdo your statistic, easily. Sure, humans may only be aware of 20% of species. But some sources say five species go extinct every hour. It's not hard to believe. The word's population increases by 60,000 people every day, and part of accommodating so many lives includes clearing an acre of rainforest every second. More insects can live in an acre of rainforest than there are people on earth. 90 trillion insects will die every day for 60,000 humans. Fair trade? I hope not. Then discovering new species doesn't excuse our actions. Species are going extinct much faster than we're discovering them.


How about the Quagga? It went extinct in the late 1800's, do you even know what a Quagga is? It's half horse/half zebra. Do you miss it? Did the ecosystem collapse because of it's extinct status?

Ecosystems, by definition, embrace whatever they have to work with. Your argument makes me think of a person standing and looking out into a forest, thinking, "Oh, the ecosystem's just fine." But what about food webs? Food chains? They have species too. A casual observer won't notice the absence of animals in that forest, but nature does. Back to the idea of thinking big picture - If we talk about the Quagga, why leave out the living things that died with it? Maybe you don't care. But the Quagga did. And the animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms which interacted with it did. Those that died because the Quagga died did, and those that died because those animals died did.

Of course, for that argument to make much sense, readers have to actually care about the extinction of an animal. Most don't.


the world will still turn

This is humanity's biggest problem, in my opinion. We pretend our reckless, parasitic lifestyle has no consequences.

Humans will run out of unprotected rainforest before the turn of the century. Do you know what humans do with that rainforest? They don't even harvest the wood. They just burn it, and use the terrain as farmland. To make things worse, the soil is very poor by agricultural standards, and isn't even farmable for more than a few years at most. What this means is humans are approaching a point of no return, when the prices of agricultural goods will skyrocket.

Humans are also draining lakes, streams, and aquifers for bottled water. A water shortage is set to occur around 2050, and I challenge you to imagine water being more expensive than gas - because that's what will happen. The United States foreign affairs policy has more than acknowledged the threat of wars being fought for water. All this because tropical and aquatic environments are being carelessly destroyed.

Killing off these animals is just as consequential. Morally, I believe that because all lifeforms are the biproducts of evolution, just like us, they deserve their place in the world. I believe technology has given us authority we don't deserve, and that we should leave species to their homes and us to ours. Thinking back to when I was little, every summer, monarch butterflies would come to the garden in my backyard and fly around the flowers. Recently, I haven't seen a monarch in years. Each generation will suffer a small loss - bears, fish, butterflies - but it will all add up into something disgusting, a gruesome planet to live on. Dirtier air, bigger cities, and less wildlife will replace what we have now.

What else? The lack of biodiversity would impair medicine and science. The carbon released into the atmosphere from burning rainforests would accelerate global warming, which would melt our ice caps, which would release more carbon, and so on. Oceans would rise - they've already risen about seven inches in the last 100 years, after all - and flooding would follow. Erosion would take place on a continental level, without as many trees to bind the earth together.

But the world still turns.


Trust me, the real endangered species on this planet is the Human Being.

And how's that?		2011-11-13 20:13:00

Author:
Incinerator22
Posts: 3251

Oh Alex, that me KBALOL (Kick Back And Laugh Out Loud)
I was prepared to come in with a rant/opinion along the lines of SnipySev's cartoon, but now see I don't need to. That comic pretty much states it. This planet has been here for millions of years and all kinds of species have come and gone. New species are discovered everyday and another one dies out. It's the life cycle. Countless thousands of species have become extinct and guess what? We're still here, the Earth has somehow survived without these animals. Anyone miss the dinosaur? How about the Quagga? It went extinct in the late 1800's, do you even know what a Quagga is? It's half horse/half zebra. Do you miss it? Did the ecosystem collapse because of it's extinct status? How about some new discoveries this year? We've got Darwin's Dark Spider that can spin a web 82 feet across! discovered for the first time in 2011.

What else do we have?
Pancake Batfish. The batfish walks on thick fins, very awkwardly – hence its name, as its gait is reminiscent of a walking bat's.
Raspy Cricket
Walter's Duiker - a tiny new antelope
Varanus bitatawa - a newly discovered monitor lizard
a new species of Dolphin was also discovered this year. The list goes on and on. Here, read this quote:



Now don't get ole Bio wrong. I'm an animal lover and I can't stand to see animals abused. And while it is sad that the Wild Black Rhino has gone extinct (although later in the article it says they are endangered and have a population of 4,800) the world will still turn and humans will still continue to hunt animals. I'm also an avid hunter and fishermen. I don't trophy hunt, I food hunt. That deer or wild hog meat goes straight to the freezer. Trust me, the real endangered species on this planet is the Human Being.

There's a huge difference between something going extinct due to changes in its habitat and it being killed because people believe its horn possesses magical qualities		2011-11-13 21:10:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

so what, we kill animals all the times. Mostly for food, clothing, even for sport. We're not to blame for another animal's extinction, it's the animal's fault for being fair game. End of story2011-11-14 01:43:00

Author:
TheBigMan0706
Posts: 40

so what, we kill animals all the times. Mostly for food, clothing, even for sport. We're not to blame for another animal's extinction, it's the animal's fault for being fair game. End of story

...

Um... ya... Riiiiiiiiiight. I... can't even begin to describe what's wrong with this statement.

At any rate...

/ashe

Seriously, why the **** should we care about what happens to animals and the Earth? This Earth was made for us to rape, *****. After all, like, those elephants. They... they should die. Cause we rule. Ya.

And the long term environmental effects of burning down the rainforests and destroying the Earth's air supply? Who the hell cares? MONEY, *****es!

... Anywho. Ya. Why do we care something's dead? Blah blah blah, darwinism-spoken-mainly-by-the-religious-right, caring-about-world-done-mainly-by-godless-hippies. Once again, humanity makes no sense. I know, wrong place to incorporate religion, but seriously. This is making my head melt. Why are the religious right the ones who usually embrace Darwinism? Not just the scientific thing, but the whole kill all the animals and the environment for profit thing. I know that it's Capitalistic in nature, but how can people who worship an obvious socialist embrace the profit motive? Like, I can't see Jesus telling people to be capitalists...Humanity is so weird sometimes ;-; By which I mean all the time.

Oh, hey, I brought religion in here. This ought to be good. /grabs popcorn

... K, where were we? Oh yeah, BURN PLANET EARTH!

... Sorry, one more thing that is bothering me.

So, the "right" says we should worry about the debt we leave our grandkids...

... and then believe we shouldn't do the same about the environment? Oh well.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's another hot topic I drag into this topic. Wheeeeeee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-fzaoi_Jgo		2011-11-14 01:55:00

Author:
RockSauron
Posts: 10882

we kill animals all the times. Mostly for food, clothing,The Rhino was killed due to people believing it's horn could be used as medicine, Which as I'm sure you know is nonsense.

even for sport.
That doesn't make it alright, it's a very childish way to look at the world "Oh in the past our ancesto-" In the past our ancestors didn't have Rifles which could take down an animal the size of a car in only a few shots, or a tool that would let you carry said animal back to your butcherhouse, in the age of the Humter/Gatherer we were limited by how much we could carry, which meant that our ecological impact wasn't as bad.

We're not to blame for another animal's extinction, it's the animal's fault for being fair game. End of story
Except we can, because we killed almost every one. And it didn't exactly choose to be fair game did it? Some humans come along with their guns and jeeps and bullets and yell "Oi Rhino, Do you mind if we kill all your brethren in an extremely short space of time, giving you no chance to fight back or evolve armour?"
Now I may have missed the memo but I'm pretty sure the Rhino didn't yell back.		2011-11-14 08:05:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

Sea Turtle - critically endangered
With an 80% fall in nesting in the Pacific's Leatherback sea turtle, poaching and fishing nets have forced numbers down to 30,000.

peanuts		2011-11-14 16:16:00

Author:
Testudini
Posts: 3262

97% of all of the animals, plants and insects that have evolved on earth are now extinct.
We are right now living through a mass extinction event on the same scale as the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs - caused by human predation.

The meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs enabled the small burrowing shrew like mammal the evolutionary space to evolve eventually into Humans.
In the long, deep perspective of time - the loss of the black rhino is no more significant than than the loss of any of the other millions of species that have joined the ranks of the extinct.

Who knows what animal will evolve to fill the evolutionary niche created in the black rhino shaped vacuum?		2011-11-17 01:09:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Awhh... poor rhinos 2011-11-17 01:40:00

Author:
Unknown User

Oh Alex, that me KBALOL (Kick Back And Laugh Out Loud)
I was prepared to come in with a rant/opinion along the lines of SnipySev's cartoon, but now see I don't need to. That comic pretty much states it. This planet has been here for millions of years and all kinds of species have come and gone. New species are discovered everyday and another one dies out. It's the life cycle. Countless thousands of species have become extinct and guess what? We're still here, the Earth has somehow survived without these animals. Anyone miss the dinosaur? How about the Quagga? It went extinct in the late 1800's, do you even know what a Quagga is? It's half horse/half zebra. Do you miss it? Did the ecosystem collapse because of it's extinct status? How about some new discoveries this year? We've got Darwin's Dark Spider that can spin a web 82 feet across! discovered for the first time in 2011.

What else do we have?
Pancake Batfish. The batfish walks on thick fins, very awkwardly – hence its name, as its gait is reminiscent of a walking bat's.
Raspy Cricket
Walter's Duiker - a tiny new antelope
Varanus bitatawa - a newly discovered monitor lizard
a new species of Dolphin was also discovered this year. The list goes on and on. Here, read this quote:



Now don't get ole Bio wrong. I'm an animal lover and I can't stand to see animals abused. And while it is sad that the Wild Black Rhino has gone extinct (although later in the article it says they are endangered and have a population of 4,800) the world will still turn and humans will still continue to hunt animals. I'm also an avid hunter and fishermen. I don't trophy hunt, I food hunt. That deer or wild hog meat goes straight to the freezer. Trust me, the real endangered species on this planet is the Human Being.


97% of all of the animals, plants and insects that have evolved on earth are now extinct.
We are right now living through a mass extinction event on the same scale as the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs - caused by human predation.

The meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs enabled the small burrowing shrew like mammal the evolutionary space to evolve eventually into Humans.
In the long, deep perspective of time - the loss of the black rhino is no more significant than than the loss of any of the other millions of species that have joined the ranks of the extinct.

Who knows what animal will evolve to fill the evolutionary niche created in the black rhino shaped vacuum?

Look, I understand species come and go, buuuuuuuut, when you kill hundreads/ thousands of species withing 100/ 1000 years, thzt's not normal, or good.

All those new species have been evolving from other species tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of years, if you kill species too fast, then other species can't develop.

What, do you think new animals/ species just *poof* into existence?
You have to leave something for sub species of that animal to develop, you know?



Yeah. Ever since we were put on this planet we have only affected in a negative way, If I was Mother Nature, I'd throw all humans into hell.

Ladies and gentlemen, the mind of a killer, a murderer, and extremist, whatever you wanna call them.
You wanna kill everyone alike, including those as innocents as the animals you seem to care so much about, you wanna kill children who don't even know anything about this, your parents who struggled to raise you and make sure you lived the life you live now.

You rather your problem as eliminated, rather than fixed, and that, my friend, its the lazy mindset.
Why not start thinking on solutions to help, rather than solutions to end?		2011-11-17 07:37:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

Sure, it may take a couple of thousand years for something to evolve into the evolutionary niche once filled by the black rhino - but what is a lost oppertunity for one species, could be a new oppertunity for a different species.

It's wrong of Humans to feel that they should "stop time" and try and preserve the world as it is now. If a species needs a sustained and concerted effort in order to stop it from becoming extinct - then does it really deserve to stay alive?

None of the other millions of species that went extinct in the past (either from changes to the environment or through the emergence of a more dominant, more adaptable species) had the benefit of having the human ape intervene on it's behalf.
Surely it's against the natural order of things for a species that cannot adapt to the changes in it's environment to continue to exist?

We should remember that all species are transitory, and life has a tenacious ability to cling on.

Even if all life was reduced to just one species of single celled bacteria- that one species would eventually diversify into new species to exploit any and all possible methods of existance.
In fact, Mass Extinction events are catalysts for the evolution of new species.

Let's kill the Panda next!
I'm serious... a carnivorous bear that has evolved to eat exclusively bamboo cannot survive in a world where there are no expansive bamboo forests... it has backed itself into an evolutionary corner that it cannot escape from.
And the resources and effort in conserving such an animal would be better spent on something else.

Kill them ALL I say! 		2011-11-17 23:35:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Let's kill the Panda next!
I'm serious... a carnivorous bear that has evolved to eat exclusively bamboo cannot survive in a world where there are no expansive bamboo forests... it has backed itself into an evolutionary corner that it cannot escape from.
And the resources and effort in conserving such an animal would be better spent on something else.

Kill them ALL I say!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olLp8Cssh_M		2011-11-19 05:34:00

Author:
Testudini
Posts: 3262

(> Ahahaha! I made a rhino! derp 2011-11-20 22:15:00

Author:
lark98-2
Posts: 116

It's wrong of Humans to feel that they should "stop time" and try and preserve the world as it is now. If a species needs a sustained and concerted effort in order to stop it from becoming extinct - then does it really deserve to stay alive?

There's a difference between not killing things with the over-powered weapons we developed and it dying out due to natural causes.		2011-11-24 17:03:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

Yes, in that "natural causes" (like a meteorite, or volcano, or a virus, or the evolution or introduction of an aggressive predator)) are far more deadly and indescriminate than mankind hunting for fun or food or resourse, regardless of the weapon used.

And mankind evolved from nature, within nature - Mankinds actions are a "natural cause".
In a million years time all that will be left of mankind is an overly irradiated sediment layer in the rock formation.
Mankind is a mass extinction event unto itself.		2011-11-26 16:51:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Who knows what animal will evolve to fill the evolutionary niche created in the black rhino shaped vacuum?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ95LQGwNSXpKuiU9_3U9tSbakYPo8b9 qLGAixdRamzUSlKU3k-ycLrMVWhZg

Fourth wall breaking Ponies? 		2011-11-26 17:54:00

Author:
Phazerz123
Posts: 440

Yes, in that "natural causes" (like a meteorite, or volcano, or a virus, or the evolution or introduction of an aggressive predator)) are far more deadly and indescriminate than mankind hunting for fun or food or resourse, regardless of the weapon used.

And mankind evolved from nature, within nature - Mankinds actions are a "natural cause".
In a million years time all that will be left of mankind is an overly irradiated sediment layer in the rock formation.
Mankind is a mass extinction event unto itself.

You know fine well by natural cause i mean things like meteorites or volcanoes or such. Mankind has evolved such tools such as the gun, Which without careful handling, could wipe out most life on this planet, Now you may cause this a "Natural cause" but i call it massively irresponsible, and why should the other animals we share this planet with have to suffer because some people are idiots?		2011-11-26 18:54:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRpZE0lplDE2011-11-26 19:47:00

Author:
BasketSnake
Posts: 2391

If Tigers become extinct.. I don't know what I'll do.
They are just such beautiful creatures.

I love nature so much and I hate what we humans have done to it through poaching and the destruction of their homes.		2011-11-26 19:50:00

Author:
Plasmavore
Posts: 1913

If Tigers become extinct.. I don't know what I'll do.
They are just such beautiful creatures.

I love nature so much and I hate what we humans have done to it through poaching and the destruction of their homes.

They won't go down without a fight though. In recent years there have been increasing tiger attacks in asian villages caused by the destruction of their habitats. But to make things worse, usually when a villager gets attacked all the other inhabitants go on a hunt and only stop until they've killed a tiger... even if it's an innocent one 		2011-11-26 22:21:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I heard about it by my teacher only a few days ago... Its terrible that we (as humans) are mostly responsible for the extinction of this animal , I mean we are sometimes so selfish and self- centered about just us, but we don't think about the other life around us. It's very shameful, sooner or later in the future (if we don't change), more animals would probably be extint. Because of us, we will NEVER be able to see the Black Rhino.
"Sometimes we don't know what we've got, untill i'ts gone". Here's a song that gives a message to this story, by Canadian singer- Joni Mitchell
A GREAT SONG: GIVES A GREAT MESSAGE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg		2011-11-26 23:43:00

Author:
Unknown User

I don't understand why people can't see human activity as a "natural cause".
Throughout evolutionary history, countless species have gone extinct through the introduction or evolution of an aggressive predator.

Mankind is probably the most aggressive predator to have EVER evolved... so it's no surprise at all that it is causing the extinction of so many animals.


Grass, when it first evolved, caused the extinction of many, many types of plants (and any animals that relied on those plants for survival). But without the introduction of grass plains, we would never have seen an animal like the black rhino evolve. So the black rhino owed it's existance to a previous mass extinction.

Just as mankind owes it's existance to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

There's no consistency to the "Mankind is selfish" argument. Mankind acts as nature intended it too - we cannot act any other way

Species go extinct all of the time.
Mass Extinction Events are catalysts for the evolution of new species as other species adapt to take advantage of the evolutionary niche previously inhabited by another animal.
Mankind is causing a mass extinction event through it's actions - but mankind is a part if nature - we do not exist 'outside' of nature. So any actions by mankind is a natural cause.

"1 hour from now - another species of life will become extinct - and the rate is accelerating."
- Countdown to Extinction, Megadeath		2011-11-27 10:24:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Grass, when it first evolved, caused the extinction of many, many types of plants (and any animals that relied on those plants for survival). But without the introduction of grass plains, we would never have seen an animal like the black rhino evolve. So the black rhino owed it's existance to a previous mass extinction.
Just as mankind owes it's existance to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

But Grass or a Meteorite isn't conscious of it's actions, The grass does what is has to survive, Nothing more nothing less. We've achieved a stage slightly greater than that, Where we can survive quite easily by manipulating the environment around us - something that is part of our nature. We are conscious of what we are doing and there is a huge difference between killing the Rhino a couple of thousand years ago because it was dangerous or a good source of food, But these Rhinos were driven to extinction because a couple of thousand years ago someone invented a story that the Rhinos horn had magical healing properties, Which for some reason that escapes common logic managed to drive the horrible event.


There's no consistency to the "Mankind is selfish" argument. Mankind acts as nature intended it too - we cannot act any other way
Explain altruism then.


Species go extinct all of the time.
Mass Extinction Events are catalysts for the evolution of new species as other species adapt to take advantage of the evolutionary niche previously inhabited by another animal.
But at the rate we are killing things, there won't be any species to fill the niches.. Why can't you understand that?		2011-11-27 15:27:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

Wait.... Black rhino....

This was a hate crime! All offenders will burned at the stake.		2011-11-27 18:18:00

Author:
RagTagPwner
Posts: 344

Explain altruism then.

But at the rate we are killing things, there won't be any species to fill the niches.. Why can't you understand that?

Altruism also has it's roots in evolutionary biology.
When a baby is born, it's parents brains are flooded with hormones in order to create a bond of "love" between parent and child. This ensures that the parent will look after the child.
Humans are a tribal species... we evolved in small bands of hunter gatherer tribes. This meant that child rearing was done in the wider social group rather than purely in the immediate family. This led us to evolve the nurturing instinct in children other than our own.
When two tribes met, there was a good chance that they would start fighting - but there was just as good a chance that the other tribe had relatives of your tribe somewhere in there, and so the nurture instinct (rather than the "kill" instinct) would kick in. If a neighbouring tribe helped out another tribe in need, then there would be a good chance that they too would be helped out when they were in need - so it is a beneficial trait to evolve, as if you are on hard times, there's a chance that "nurture" instinct will kick in for someone observing you and you will receive help. Humans are social animals... for the past 400,000 years, we haven't changed much biologically, but all of our evolution has been a social evolution... a gradual increase in the complexity of our social interactions. This perfectly explains how altruism can have evolved as a form of "social insurance".

Now we also started domesticating animals - and gradually we developed the nurture instinct for other animals young (which explains why we find puppies and kittens so adorably cute).


The grass might not have had a collective understanding of the effect it was having - just as the poachers might not have realized that they were poaching the very last rhino - after all, they now having nothing left to poach and can no longer sell black rhino horn on the black market.
So they have stopped black rhino poaching in the most immediate way possible.
But they were acting out of self preservation... to earn money in order to help them survive in the social construct imposed upon them.


But even mankind acting at it's worst - would pale in comparison to the damage that the earth or the solar system can & will do to itself.

Let me ask you this;
Was the meteorite that killed off the dinosaurs a good thing or a bad thing?		2011-11-28 07:56:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

just as the poachers might not have realized that they were poaching the very last rhino - after all, they now having nothing left to poach and can no longer sell black rhino horn on the black market.
So they have stopped black rhino poaching in the most immediate way possible.



This isn't the end for Black Rhino poaching, there's still 3 other subspecies left to kill and sell on the black market.		2011-11-28 09:32:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Everyone should read "Last Chance to See" by Douglas Adams.
There was also a TV series with Steven Fry presenting.		2011-11-28 09:49:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970


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