"If an animal is overflowing, it must be because it doesn't taste good. ”
Indeed, the people live on food. Since primitive society, human beings have regarded the pursuit of food as the first priority in life. But you know what? A lot of poor animals have gone extinct because of man's thirst for "food"!
And it took less than a hundred years for an animal to go from 5 billion to extinction!
Which animals have suffered this fate, and can humans and other life on Earth still be able to "play"?
The doom of the North American passenger pigeon
Our ancestors have been trying to eat meat since ancient times, a high-protein, high-calorie food. The ancestors found that these meats were not only delicious, but also that they would not be hungry for a long time after eating, and their bodies became better and better after eating.
Since then, mankind has embarked on a never-ending quest for the deliciousness of meat.
"Whether it's flying in the sky or swimming in the water, none of them can escape the covetousness of foodies. ”
This sentence speaks to the greedy side of human beings. When human beings reach out to the creatures of nature, their fate is already sealed. And this greed has led to the disappearance of countless lives on Earth.
The North American passenger pigeon is one of the life forms that became extinct in the mouth of man.
According to scientists' estimates, the number of passenger pigeons on the North American prairies was once as high as 5 billion. Whenever the spring flowers bloom, there are hundreds of millions of passenger pigeons hovering in the sky.
But such a sight ceased to exist after the landing of the Europeans. When Columbus's fleet arrived in the Americas in 1492, it was not long before these large numbers and sizes were spotted.
In the beginning, these unseen birds did not attract much attention from European immigrants. But it didn't take long for people to be attracted to the flesh and feathers of the passenger pigeon.
Not only was the meat found to be delicious and tasty, but the feathers on its body were also ideal for making warm supplies. As a result, the killing of passenger pigeons began to rise among the colonists.
At first, the number of passenger pigeons was so large that this hunting did not have much impact on their numbers. But as the population continues to grow, so does the demand.
By the 19th century, large-scale hunting had become a daily routine.
A wide variety of pigeon hunting tools were invented and widely used, and there were even cases where hunting dogs were specially trained to catch passenger pigeons. And because it is believed that there are many passenger pigeons, the captured passenger pigeons are often fed directly to the pigs.
In less than 100 years, this bird, which once numbered as many as 5 billion, was eaten to the last one.
In 1914, the last female North American passenger pigeon, named Martha, died at a zoo in Ohio, USA. Since then, this species has been completely extinct.
It is not only the North American passenger pigeon that has been poisoned by humans, but also the great puffins have not escaped the fate of being hunted.
The "unlucky guys" in the sea
The Great Puffin is a peculiar species of seabird that once lived in the North Atlantic. They are pitch black like penguins and have a pair of tiny wings, but they are not capable of flight.
However, compared to the clumsy posture on land, the great puffin is a leading "swimmer" in the water.
Puffins are docile by nature and are not wary of humans. This doomed them to a tragic end. As early as the 16th century, groups of navigators from Europe had already hunted puffins in these waters.
Not only was the great puffin meat, but it was also a treasure all over its body, and its feathers were one of the most expensive items of its time.
As a result, the killing of great puffins became one of the most popular activities of the crew. They even hunted puffins as a competitive competition to see who could stone more.
The frenzied hunting frenzy has led to a sharp decline in the population of the great puffin. In the 18th century, this bird, once abundant along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, was on the verge of extinction.
In 1844, on an island near Newfoundland, Canada, the last pair of wild puffins were giving birth to a new life. But they were found and strangled alive by several ruthless hunters, and their babies were not spared.
In this way, this bird, which once lived on the earth for about 5 million years, fell victim to the catastrophe simply because of the greedy human appetite. At this time, it was less than 300 years before the discovery of the great puffin.
But they weren't the worst, the Tesla manatee was eaten out in just 27 years.
"Tesla Manatee" once lived in the Bering Strait. Measuring 7 to 8 meters long and weighing 3 to 4 tons, this behemoth is the largest marine mammal besides whales.
In 1768, an expedition was stationed off the Asian coast of the Bering Sea and accidentally spotted traces of this mysterious creature.
They were trapped on the island. Suddenly, a herd of Tesla manatees appeared in their sight. The animals were leisurely exhaling on the surface of the sea, unaware of the presence of humans.
This was an unexpected surprise for the expedition. The expedition members were struggling with food before they were rescued, and the "big guys" were enough to keep them up for a while, even enough to eat on their way home.
Following the manatee's tracks, the expedition set up a makeshift camp on a nearby beach. They tried to catch several manatees with hooks and nets.
However, they soon found that the manatees were slow and docile, and they had no power to fight back, and could hunt them alive on the beach.
When the expedition returned, the local population joined the hunt for manatees. Groups of fishing and merchant ships soon arrived in the Bering Strait and began a frenzied hunt for Tesla's manatee.
This massive marine mammal is simply the easiest to catch in the world.
Just 27 years later, the creature has completely disappeared from the entire face of the earth. Human greed has brought to an end this life, which could have survived for millions of years.
In addition to the North American passenger pigeon, the great puffin, and the Tesla manatee, there are many animals that have disappeared from the earth due to human appetite, such as dodos, spotted donkeys, and so on.
There is an urgent need to protect biodiversity
Humans are greedy and will be killed once an animal is classified as a "delicacy". Despite repeated appeals from scientists, the pursuit of food is no match for people's pursuit of food.
This uncontrolled hunting and eating has directly led to a serious loss of biodiversity on the planet.
According to scientists, an average of three species of animals disappear from the earth every hour, and as many as 72 species per day.
The most regrettable thing is that these animals may also contain secrets unknown to humans, such as drugs, genes, and so on. This kind of greedy behavior of human beings is not only destroying the ecological balance, but also invisibly hindering their own progress.
Not only do we eat animals to extinction, but our homes also carry many other ecological hazards. Since the beginning of human civilization, large-scale production and lifestyle have been slowly but continuously destroying the environment.
Indiscriminate hunting, over-logging, and industrial pollution are all major contributors to biodiversity loss. For the sustainable development of the planet, humanity has taken action.
China, for example, has taken a lot of measures to protect the homes we depend on.
At the end of 2022, China, as the presidency of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, promoted the conclusion of the Kunmeng Framework and other documents.
At the same time, China has also updated and released the China Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2030). In addition to the planning documents, the mainland has also passed laws such as the Biosecurity Law, the Yangtze River Protection Law, and the Wetland Protection Law.
Through continuous legislative protection and the linkage between the central and local governments, the mainland has made great progress in biodiversity conservation.
In recent years, the number of wild populations in mainland China has increased significantly. The wild population of giant pandas has increased from 1,114 in the 1970s to 1,864 in 2023, the crested ibis population has grown from seven to more than 5,000, and the Hainan gibbon has grown from less than 10 to 35.
The author thinks
The tragedy of eating animals to extinction is another wake-up call for mankind. The loss of biodiversity is accelerating, and our opportunities to live in harmony with nature are disappearing.
If we are greedy, we will not only destroy ecosystems, but also destroy our own homes.
It's not too late, let's learn from the tragedy of history, cherish all the lives around us, and protect the environment on which we live. Only when man and nature coexist in harmony can future generations have green mountains and clear waters and have a beautiful home.
Information sources:
1. Edited by the Editorial Board of Legendary Hanmo "Apocalypse of Destruction, They Are Extinct"
2. Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, Expert Interpretation | Central-local collaboration to promote biodiversity governance in the new era》
3. CCTV "[Daily Idioms] has embarked on a road of biodiversity conservation with Chinese characteristics"