What species are going extinct?
The best known groups of organisms are birds and mammals. Since the year 1600, a total of 83 mammals species (2.1%) and 113 birds (1.3%) are known to have become extinct. This number is expected to rise rapidly as the breeding populations of many species continue to decline. But even before the advent of modern technology, humanity took a heavy toll on creation. Approximately 70% of the known bird species have become extinct in the Hawaiian Islands since humans first arrived. Indeed, large-scale extinctions of Pacific island birds apparently was widespread. Recent evidence points to a loss from these islands in excess of 2,000 species following human habitation—a 20% reduction in the world’s bird species. Evidence also links the colonization of Australia and North America with the disappearance of many species of large mammals (those over 100 pounds). More than 50 mammal species have become extinct since the arrival of humans in North America. A few thousand years ago, the western gras
