We Have Lost Anotherr...................
Jun. 13th, 2008 01:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
disneydream06Sad Fate Sealed for Caribbean Monk Seal
Last Friday the U.S. government declared that the Caribbean monk seal is endangered no more -- it's extinct. It was last sighted in 1952 and was put on the endangered species list in 1967 in the vain hope it would be rediscovered. Its extinction was driven by hunters of food, blubber, and skins as far back as 1494, when Columbus noted it was easy prey.
The Caribbean monk seal takes the title as the first seal species to go extinct solely due to human causes. Unfortunately, the endangered Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go. Both species are dwindling fast due to global warming, sea-level rise, and other factors. The monk seal's 4-percent annual decline has put it on a fast extinction trajectory unless something is done soon.
Last Friday the U.S. government declared that the Caribbean monk seal is endangered no more -- it's extinct. It was last sighted in 1952 and was put on the endangered species list in 1967 in the vain hope it would be rediscovered. Its extinction was driven by hunters of food, blubber, and skins as far back as 1494, when Columbus noted it was easy prey.
The Caribbean monk seal takes the title as the first seal species to go extinct solely due to human causes. Unfortunately, the endangered Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go. Both species are dwindling fast due to global warming, sea-level rise, and other factors. The monk seal's 4-percent annual decline has put it on a fast extinction trajectory unless something is done soon.
