Extinction is Forever?
We all know that animals like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Triceratops are extinct. Scientists do not know exactly what happened to the dinosaurs. Most agree that they disappeared because of natural causes. Throughout history, many animals like dinosaurs have gone extinct. Extinction is part of nature. But, animals are now becoming extinct at a very high rate. Many of these extinctions are being caused by the affect people have on the environment.
The Dodo bird is probably the most famous animal to go extinct because of people. Dodo birds lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The Dodo lived before cameras were invented. We do not know exactly what they looked like. We do know that they could not fly. We also know that they had no predators on their island home. That is, until people came to settle on the island. What happened to these birds?
The early settlers did not hunt all of the Dodos. It is said that they were not good for eating. People changed the habitat of the Dodo when they brought animals like dogs and pigs to the island. It is believed that these animals hunted the Dodo. They also took over the Dodos habitat and even ate the eggs of the flightless bird. By 1700, the last Dodo bird was dead.
Tiger Family in Woodlands
It is impossible to know how many species go extinct every year. Many scientists believe that the number is in the thousands. Extinction is caused by many things. Scientists believe that habitat change is the biggest cause for extinction. And, people are the biggest cause of habitat change. But, people have the power to stop many species from becoming extinct. What can we do to protect the future of animals on our planet?
TLX News Journal History Activity:
Find a picture in a book or on the Internet of an extinct animal. Write about how that that animal became extinct.
