Congratulations, humans! Another one bites the dust!

[theHandpuppet]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5167266.stm

Extinction fear for black rhino
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Poaching has apparently driven black rhinos extinct in West Africa

The West African black rhino appears to have become extinct, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

A mission to their last known habitat in northern Cameroon failed to find any rhinos or signs of their existence.

The sub-species has declined in recent decades due primarily to poaching, which has also brought the northern white rhino close to extinction.

In East and Southern Africa, numbers of related sub-species are rising with the use of effective protection measures.

But after two decades of warnings, the western black rhino has apparently met its final end, according to the findings of an extensive expedition by three specialists earlier this year....

MORE

[Maestro]

1. But it was just Rhino.

I mean really who cares. :sarcasm: That really is just disgusting. People just don't care for life. We are inherently selfish as a species I guess. If we want something, we do not care how it impacts other species. Horrible!

[Canuckistanian]

2. Killed for these

Jambiyas, the ornamental daggers worn by men in the Middle East, especially Yemen.

[Tulum_Moon]

3. Don't blame all humans

Some of us care and are activists for these animals.:cry:
Any man wearing those should be in jail.

[Canuckistanian]

4. I don't

But it just shows you how much damage a relatively small number of humans can do.
:grr:

[theHandpuppet]

7. And the relatively small human population...

...which used to coexist with all manner of species on this planet has managed to increase its numbers to the point where the entire planet must be sacrificed in order for humans to continue their selfish ways. Forests, seas, fish, fowl, mammals, the very earth itself... nothing will escape the ever-burgeoning needs of a human population out of control.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

15. Unfortunately, we've been killing them off for thousands of years...

In Australia and New Guinea, we killed off all the large animals, in North America, the Mammoths, horses, camels... they all existed there before we showed up. :(

We seem to be a very short-sighted species.

[greiner3]

5. According to the fundies;

That can't happen. They like new species about as much as news about species going extinct. Not one species has gone extinct, according to them, since old noah's time. Which reminds me, I was always curious about that story. The only animals to die in wholesale slaughter were those that were terran. Birds, a lot of insects, bacteria and anything living under or on the seas survived. Oh well, you can't argue reason with fanatical devotion; but sometimes it's fun trying. :rofl:

[Double T]

6. The list of extinct creatures of the earth grows longer..........

what will happen when we have crossed off ALL the other creatures living on this planet and ONLY 'man' is left????

[Quantess]

8. We won't be the last creatures to survive.

Cockroaches, ants, algae, and bacteria will outlast humans. That's my prediction.

[Canuckistanian]

14. And beetles, lots and lots of beetles

They're the most diverse and successful animals on this planet.

They put us to shame, really, in terms of survivability and adaptability.

[sleipnir]

18. And #1 Hit Albums.

n/t

[Homer Wells]

9. I think Man gives himself too much credit

I think Man himself will become extinct long before he has the chance to eradicate all of life.

Mankind seems hell-bent on killing anything that gets in his way, including each other. We seem to be the only species on the planet who actively HATES enough to kill for the sake of killing.

Mother Earth got along fine without human kind for many many millions of years, and will do fine after he has shuffled off the scene.

[Boomer]

10. What Humans don't hate...

... they eat.

Either way, our species is acting like the Ultimate Terminator.

[Canuckistanian]

13. That's the main problem, though

We not only kill off the things that get in our way, but inadvertently many other species that don't.

We just never consider the total consequences of our actions. This will be our ultimate downfall, if we don't recognize it in time.

[theHandpuppet]

19. Unfortunately, though...

It looks as if thousands of species will be driven to extinction before humankind gets its well-deserved comeuppance.

[Hekate]

17. We've created lots of ecological niches for vermin likes rats, mice, lice

... and cockroaches. I think they'd scarcely know what to live on if we were gone -- for a while anyway; ultimately they're very adaptable critters.

I'm very sorry about the larger species, though. We are bequeathing a diminished Earth to our children.

Hekate

[lonestarnot]

11. Silver-back gorillas are probably next.

[AuntiBush]

12. Don't Remind Me.

You're probably right, stinking-sadly so.

[eridani]

16. Shit! I was hoping it was DRE voting machines n/t