It seems that the global warming alarmists aren’t the only one who “fudge” the numbers. The UK’s Daily Mail is reporting that conservationists are overestimating the numbers of animals that go extinct with one-third of the animals on a well-publicized “extinct list” eventually reappearing. Animals declared extinct over the last century, such as the Congo’s Opaki, Indonesia’s “flying fox” and the Christmas Shrew–all of them back from the dead.
Researcher, Diana Fisher of the University of Queensland, Australia, determined that of 187 species that have been missing since the 16th century, 67 of those “extinct” species have been rediscovered. The report doesn’t seek to downplay the threat to habitat and the animals that are impacted by environmental destruction, but it does point out the problems with the classification system and how the decisions are made to declare an animal extinct.
Later this month, the UN will convene meetings in Japan to discuss biodiversity where groups such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature will continue to insist that 22 percent of the world’s mammals are at risk of extinction. Some environmental organizations are on record with the statement that the world will lose about half of all species within a generation— 27,000 species a year going extinct. Other scientists point out that the highest proven rate of extinction is less than one species per year out of millions of species or an overall rate of extinction rate of 0.7 percent.
While it is important to take all reasonable measures to protect at-risk animals, UFI takes issue with those who overemphasize the protection of plants and animals while showing a high level of animosity toward human beings. It is interesting to note that estimates are that 99 percent of all species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct.