What’s Happening?

Birds!

Birds are so cool! Since I moved to Minnesota in 2019 I have gotten really into the birds around me. Not only they cool, they play important roles in our ecosystems. Its stunning to realize that there over 11,000 species of birds. Unfortunately, that reflects a decline of over 1,400 species since the Late Pleistocene. Our remaining species are under significant pressure, bird populations are in serious decline. A 2019 study revealed a net loss of nearly 3 billion birds in North America since 1970, representing a 29% decrease.

Mammals!

Mammals are a relatively smaller group of animals compared to reptiles and birds, but they are no less interesting. Think about it, they range in size from Etuscan Shrew to Blue Whales. Again, mammalian populations are in decline. At least 351 mammal species have gone extinct since the Late Pleistocene, with 80 of these extinctions occurring after 1500 CE.

Citations and References

I’m not making this shit up. I’ve done my research, using AI quite sparingly. Throughout the site you will find numbers in parentheses that indicate references for the information presented. The source of these references is listed below:

  1. New Population Estimate Finds North Atlantic Right Whales Still Swimming Along the Edge of Extinction; 2024 Press Release from Oceana, one of the leading organizations working exclusively to protect and restore the oceans on a global scale.
  2. Population size estimation of North Atlantic right whales from 1990-2023; 2024 NOAA Monograph
  3. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Native Fish Investigations Program, Borax Lake Chub

“The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.”
– Theodore Roosevelt


“The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.”
– Rachel Carson