This Wednesday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced the death knell for 22 different animal species as well as one plant species, declaring them extinct. The list includes 10 species of birds and bats that live exclusively on the Pacific Islands, as well as 8 different species of freshwater mussels. Perhaps most notably, however, wildlife officials have ranked the ivory-billed woodpecker as officially extinct.
A striking black bird with tufts of bright red feathers protruding from the back of the head and a smooth white stripe running from the neck down the entire length of the back, once inhabited the southeastern United States. However, as the country flourished throughout the nineteenth century, deforestation destroyed much of its habitat. In addition, the hunters have chosen them for use by hat makers and private collectors.
The last known sighting came in 1944, although its declining population helped the government call for action. In 1973, with the adoption of the Endangered Species Act, it became illegal to “stalk, harm, stalk, hunt, shoot, injure, kill, trap, trap, or harvest” endangered species. Alas, it was too late for an ivory-beaked woodpecker. However, a national effort has been made to find the elusive bird in the hopes that it will be able to regain its former glory.
While none of these attempts resulted in ivory-beaked woodpeckers, Endangered Species Act proponents point out that 99 percent of its list is still extant. Conservationists have credited the legislation with reviving the bald eagle, gray wolf, humpback whales and the American alligator. However, these success stories disprove the much longer list of animal species still struggling to recover. Only 3 percent of those listed were ever removed from the list after the restoration of their population.
More bird species are dying out
The history of the ivory-beaked woodpecker is not a big deal among bird species. A study completed in 2019 showed a dramatic decline in bird populations in North America. A team of researchers led by Kenneth Rosenberg, an environmental scientist at Cornell University, used a variety of methods to track the growth and decline of bird activity. Using weather radar, bird surveys and computer models for 529 different bird species, they found a 29 percent reduction in bird populations.
As of 1970, it is estimated that there were about 10.1 billion birds living in the United States and Canada. By the date of publication of the study, that figure had dropped to 7.2 billion.
Some bird species fell harder than others. For example, the number of waterbird species has declined by about 21.5 percent from the 1970 population, while a study found that the bob quail lost a staggering 80 percent. While the study hasn’t shown why bird populations have declined, other studies point to obvious human influence.
One study conducted several years earlier provided estimates of anthropogenic bird mortality. Cars kill 624 million birds each year, collisions with windows 214 million, and cats another 2.6 billion.
“One of the scary things about the results is that it’s happening right in front of our eyes,” Rosenberg said. “We may not even notice it until it’s too late.”
Complaints about “extinct” differences
The announcement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service opens a three-month period for discussion on the final decision on these 23 species. Critics of this move called the reclassification defeatist. Ultimately, they fear, the extinction label breeds pessimism, undermining efforts to detect endangered species and protect their environment.
While the federal wildlife agency defends the decision as overdue, which rules out the list of hopeless causes, some environmentalists complain that it is draining funding. Craig Hilton-Taylor, a member of the Swiss group International Union for Conservation of Nature, criticized the NPR update. “Suddenly there is no more money, and then suddenly you really make it disappear because you stop investing in it,” he said.
Worsening extinction crisis
The extinction of these 22 animals is just the latest in an ongoing extinction crisis seen by biologists around the world. Scientists have documented that biodiversity is rapidly disappearing 1,000 times faster than it naturally occurs. Typically, the rate of extinction is about 1 to 5 species annually. Instead, this low figure does not even match the current daily extinction rate estimated by biologists.
Climate change is responsible for some of these losses, but much at the junction remains habitat invasion and destruction. With the rapid spread of the human footprint into an environment previously dominated by wildlife, animal species are failing. Meanwhile, efforts to protect these endangered species are aimed at preventing uncontrolled development. Conservation measures such as the designation of a wildlife corridor in Florida are helping to stem loss, but without widespread distribution, these 22 extinct species only mark the beginning of what will turn out to be an era of extinction.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How many endangered species have been declared extinct?
Until today’s announcement, only 11 species listed as endangered have been reclassified as extinct. If, after a three-month window of deliberation, federal wildlife officials have not changed their minds, that number will rise to 34. Conversely, the number that was removed due to the fact that they restored what biologists consider to be a healthy population is 54. In addition, , 48 have changed their classification from endangered to just endangered.
How many species are on the list? How much is added annually?
The list currently includes 2,244 different species that the US Fish and Wildlife Service considers endangered. Only 1,618 people live in the United States. Of these, most are actually plants, accounting for 884. In addition, there are 96 mammals, 95 birds, 36 reptiles, 35 amphibians and 163 fish species. Since the creation of the Endangered Species List in 1967, the number added each year has varied greatly. There were no additions for several years, while in 1994 128 species were added to the list.