Hobart Zoo, 7th September, 1936. The day the last Tasmanian Tiger died.
There is photo evidence of their existence and it brings a sense of sadness, loss and ultimately guilt. The loss of an entire species, an absolute tragedy. How could we possibly let that happen?
Last week the United Nations released a report warning us up to one million species face extinction globally due to human behaviour. It hit our news headlines fast and with good reason. Agriculture, deforestation, climate change, pollution and the spread of introduced species are the top killers of native wildlife. Every single one of these killers can be ceased or at least sustainably managed.
One million species might sound a bit far fetched, but to give some perspective, can you name the 54 animals and 37 plant species already classified as extinct in Australia?* I’ve got Tasmanian Tiger and that’s about it. How shameful.
What about the 443 animals and 1,319 plants currently listed as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable in Australia.* The loggerhead turtle, corroboree frog, numbat and the greater bilby is only a handful that I could name. Nature is clearly in trouble.
Over the last 200 years Australia has suffered the largest documented decline in biodiversity of any continent.
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/conservation
Maintaining biodiversity, also known as biological diversity, is important. Biodiversity supports the discovery of new medicines, supports our primary industries and fuels our nations tourism industry. While these are valid reasons, for me the most important reason is often overlooked and it doesn’t involve humans placing a value on another species.
What about animals and plants being free to fulfill their place in nature, the simple right to survive?
Living without the threat of your home being chopped down, or polluted to the point you could not breathe or choking on plastic rubbish. What a breath of fresh air that would be (not pardoning the pun).
Extinction of a species can happen and sadly has already happened in our lifetime. As humans we tend to protect things that we care about, so please care about our wildlife.
You may think you can’t make a difference, but as a famous leader once said, “Yes you can!”
How? With simple actions: Protect their homes, respect their homes when you visit, take your rubbish with you, stick to the path, get involved in recovery and rehabilitation projects and let friends, family and governments know you care (the ripple effect is powerful).
If you’re interested in seeing Australia’s threatened species lists, click here.
*Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) List of Threatened Fauna and Flora www.environment.gov.au May, 2019
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