Editing Mammal (section)

===Threats===
{{See also|Holocene extinction}}
[[File:Extinctions Africa Austrailia NAmerica Madagascar.gif|thumb|upright=1.4|Biodiversity of large mammal species per continent before and after humans arrived there]]

The loss of species from ecological communities, [[defaunation]], is primarily driven by human activity.<ref name=dirzo/> This has resulted in [[empty forest]]s, ecological communities depleted of large vertebrates.<ref name=primack2014>{{Cite book|title=Essentials of Conservation Biology | vauthors = Primack R |publisher=Sinauer Associates, Inc. Publishers |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-60535-289-3 |location=Sunderland, MA |pages=217–245 |edition=6th |oclc=876140621}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vignieri S | title = Vanishing fauna. Introduction | journal = Science | volume = 345 | issue = 6195 | pages = 392–395 | date = July 2014 | pmid = 25061199 | doi = 10.1126/science.345.6195.392 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2014Sci...345..392V }}</ref> In the [[Quaternary extinction event]], the mass die-off of [[megafauna]]l variety coincided with the appearance of humans, suggesting a human influence. One hypothesis is that humans hunted large mammals, such as the [[woolly mammoth]], into extinction.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Burney DA, Flannery TF | title = Fifty millennia of catastrophic extinctions after human contact | journal = Trends in Ecology & Evolution | volume = 20 | issue = 7 | pages = 395–401 | date = July 2005 | pmid = 16701402 | doi = 10.1016/j.tree.2005.04.022 | url = https://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/Fieldschools/Kauai/Publications/Publication%204.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100610061434/http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/Fieldschools/Kauai/Publications/Publication%204.pdf | archive-date = 10 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Diamond J | year=1984 |chapter=Historic extinctions: a Rosetta stone for understanding prehistoric extinctions |title=Quaternary extinctions: A prehistoric revolution | veditors = Martin PS, Klein RG | pages=824–862 | location=Tucson| publisher=University of Arizona Press | isbn=978-0-8165-1100-6|oclc=10301944}}</ref> The 2019 ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' by [[IPBES]] states that the total [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of wild mammals has declined by 82 per cent since the beginning of human civilisation.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Watts J |date=6 May 2019 |title=Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=1 July 2019 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614160705/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|vauthors=McGrath M|date=6 May 2019|title=Nature crisis: Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=1 July 2019|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630044916/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783|url-status=live}}</ref> Wild animals make up just 4% of mammalian [[biomass (ecology)|biomass]] on earth, while humans and their domesticated animals make up 96%.<ref name="Bar-On_2018"/>

Various species are predicted to [[list of critically endangered species|become extinct in the near future]],<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Main D | url = https://www.livescience.com/41421-animals-threatened-with-extinction.html | title = 7 Iconic Animals Humans Are Driving to Extinction | work = [[Live Science]] | date = 22 November 2013 | access-date = 25 January 2024 | archive-date = 6 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230106233208/https://www.livescience.com/41421-animals-threatened-with-extinction.html | url-status = live }}</ref> among them the [[rhinoceros]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/10/25/poachers-drive-javan-rhino-to-extinction-in-vietnam/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150406103742/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/10/25/poachers-drive-javan-rhino-to-extinction-in-vietnam/ | archive-date = 6 April 2015 | title = Poachers Drive Javan Rhino to Extinction in Vietnam | vauthors = Platt JR | date = 25 October 2011 | publisher = [[Scientific American]] }}</ref> [[giraffe]]s,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/08/giraffe-red-list-vulnerable-species-extinction |title=Giraffes facing extinction after devastating decline, experts warn |vauthors=Carrington D |date=8 December 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813122004/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/08/giraffe-red-list-vulnerable-species-extinction |url-status=live }}</ref> and species of [[primate]]s<ref name="primates">{{cite journal | vauthors = Estrada A, Garber PA, Rylands AB, Roos C, Fernandez-Duque E, Di Fiore A, Nekaris KA, Nijman V, Heymann EW, Lambert JE, Rovero F, Barelli C, Setchell JM, Gillespie TR, Mittermeier RA, Arregoitia LV, de Guinea M, Gouveia S, Dobrovolski R, Shanee S, Shanee N, Boyle SA, Fuentes A, MacKinnon KC, Amato KR, Meyer AL, Wich S, Sussman RW, Pan R, Kone I, Li B | display-authors = 6 | title = Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: Why primates matter | journal = Science Advances | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = e1600946 | date = January 2017 | pmid = 28116351 | pmc = 5242557 | doi = 10.1126/sciadv.1600946 | bibcode = 2017SciA....3E0946E }}</ref> and [[pangolin]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11370277/Pangolins-why-this-cute-prehistoric-mammal-is-facing-extinction.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11370277/Pangolins-why-this-cute-prehistoric-mammal-is-facing-extinction.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Pangolins: why this cute prehistoric mammal is facing extinction| vauthors = Fletcher M |date=31 January 2015 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to the WWF's 2020 ''[[Living Planet Report]]'', vertebrate [[wildlife]] populations have declined by 68% since 1970 as a result of human activities, particularly [[overconsumption]], [[population growth]] and [[intensive farming]], which is evidence that humans have triggered a [[sixth mass extinction]] event.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Greenfield P |date=9 September 2020 |title=Humans exploiting and destroying nature on unprecedented scale – report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/10/humans-exploiting-and-destroying-nature-on-unprecedented-scale-report-aoe |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021225045/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/10/humans-exploiting-and-destroying-nature-on-unprecedented-scale-report-aoe |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=McCarthy D |date=1 October 2020 |title=Terrifying wildlife losses show the extinction end game has begun – but it's not too late for change |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/wildlife-loss-humans-population-agriculture-extinction-b738367.html |work=The Independent |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407003854/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/wildlife-loss-humans-population-agriculture-extinction-b738367.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hunting alone threatens hundreds of mammalian species around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/people-are-hunting-primates-bats-and-other-mammals-extinction |title=People are hunting primates, bats, and other mammals to extinction |vauthors=Pennisi E |author-link=Elizabeth Pennisi |date=18 October 2016 |work=[[Science (magazine)|Science]] |access-date=3 February 2017 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020025827/https://www.science.org/content/article/people-are-hunting-primates-bats-and-other-mammals-extinction |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ripple WJ, Abernethy K, Betts MG, Chapron G, Dirzo R, Galetti M, Levi T, Lindsey PA, Macdonald DW, Machovina B, Newsome TM, Peres CA, Wallach AD, Wolf C, Young H | display-authors = 6 | title = Bushmeat hunting and extinction risk to the world's mammals | journal = Royal Society Open Science | volume = 3 | issue = 10 | pages = 160498 | date = October 2016 | pmid = 27853564 | pmc = 5098989 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.160498 | bibcode = 2016RSOS....360498R | hdl = 1893/24446 }}</ref> Scientists claim that the growing demand for [[meat]] is contributing to [[biodiversity loss]] as this is a significant driver of [[deforestation]] and [[habitat destruction]]; species-rich habitats, such as significant portions of the [[Amazon rainforest]], are being converted to agricultural land for meat production.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Williams M, Zalasiewicz J, Haff PK, Schwägerl C, Barnosky AD, Ellis EC |author-link5=Anthony David Barnosky |year=2015 |title=The Anthropocene Biosphere |journal=The Anthropocene Review |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=196–219 |doi=10.1177/2053019615591020|bibcode=2015AntRv...2..196W |s2cid=7771527 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |title=Meat-eaters may speed worldwide species extinction, study warns |vauthors=Morell V |date=11 August 2015 |work=[[Science (magazine)|Science]] |access-date=3 February 2017 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220105327/http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Machovina B, Feeley KJ, Ripple WJ | title = Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption | journal = The Science of the Total Environment | volume = 536 | pages = 419–431 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26231772 | doi = 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.022 | bibcode = 2015ScTEn.536..419M }}</ref> Another influence is over-hunting and [[species affected by poaching|poaching]], which can reduce the overall population of game animals,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Redford KH |year=1992 |title=The empty forest |journal=BioScience |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=412–422 |url=http://www.dse.ufpb.br/alexandre/Redford%201992%20-The%20empty%20forest.pdf |doi=10.2307/1311860 |jstor=1311860 |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228092214/http://www.dse.ufpb.br/alexandre/Redford%201992%20-The%20empty%20forest.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> especially those located near villages,<ref name=peres2006>{{cite book| vauthors = Peres CA, Nascimento HS |title=Human Exploitation and Biodiversity Conservation |chapter=Impact of game hunting by the Kayapó of south-eastern Amazonia: implications for wildlife conservation in tropical forest indigenous reserves |volume=3 |issue=8 |year=2006 |pages=287–313 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-5283-5 |oclc=207259298}}</ref> as in the case of [[peccary|peccaries]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Altrichter M, Boaglio G |title=Distribution and Relative Abundance of Peccaries in the Argentine Chaco: Associations with Human Factors | journal=Biological Conservation |volume=116 |issue=2 |year=2004 |pages=217–225 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00192-7|bibcode=2004BCons.116..217A }}</ref> The effects of poaching can especially be seen in the [[ivory trade]] with African elephants.<ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Gobush K |title=Effects of Poaching on African elephants |url=https://conservationbiology.uw.edu/research-programs/effects-of-poaching-on-african-elephants/ |website=Center For Conservation Biology |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208132610/https://conservationbiology.uw.edu/research-programs/effects-of-poaching-on-african-elephants/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Marine mammals are at risk from entanglement from fishing gear, notably [[Cetacean bycatch|cetaceans]], with discard mortalities ranging from 65,000 to 86,000 individuals annually.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t4890e/T4890E03.htm#ch1.1.10 |chapter=Bycatch of Marine Mammals |title=A global assessment of fisheries bycatch and discards |vauthors=Alverson DL, Freeburg MH, Murawski SA, Pope JG |year=1996 |orig-year=1994 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |location=Rome |isbn=978-92-5-103555-9 |oclc=31424005 |access-date=25 January 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217074707/http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/T4890E/T4890E03.htm#ch1.1.10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Attention is being given to endangered species globally, notably through the [[Convention on Biological Diversity]], otherwise known as the Rio Accord, which includes 189 signatory countries that are focused on identifying endangered species and habitats.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Glowka L, Burhenne-Guilmin F, Synge HM, McNeely JA, Gündling L |title=IUCN environmental policy and law paper |series=Guide to the Convention on Biodiversity |year=1994 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |isbn=978-2-8317-0222-3 |oclc=32201845}}</ref> Another notable conservation organisation is the IUCN, which has a membership of over 1,200 governmental and [[Non-governmental organization|non-governmental]] organisations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iucn.org/about |title=About IUCN |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |access-date=3 February 2017 |date=3 December 2014 |archive-date=15 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415031632/https://www.iucn.org/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[List of recently extinct mammals|Recent extinctions]] can be directly attributed to human influences.<ref name=ceballos>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Barnosky AD, García A, Pringle RM, Palmer TM | title = Accelerated modern human-induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction | journal = Science Advances | volume = 1 | issue = 5 | pages = e1400253 | date = June 2015 | pmid = 26601195 | pmc = 4640606 | doi = 10.1126/sciadv.1400253 | bibcode = 2015SciA....1E0253C }}</ref><ref name=dirzo>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dirzo R, Young HS, Galetti M, Ceballos G, Isaac NJ, Collen B | title = Defaunation in the Anthropocene | journal = Science | volume = 345 | issue = 6195 | pages = 401–406 | date = July 2014 | pmid = 25061202 | doi = 10.1126/science.1251817 | url = https://www.uv.mx/personal/tcarmona/files/2010/08/Science-2014-Dirzo-401-6-2.pdf | bibcode = 2014Sci...345..401D | s2cid = 206555761 | access-date = 25 January 2024 | archive-date = 7 August 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190807115621/https://www.uv.mx/personal/tcarmona/files/2010/08/Science-2014-Dirzo-401-6-2.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> The IUCN characterises 'recent' extinction as those that have occurred past the cut-off point of 1500,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fisher DO, Blomberg SP | title = Correlates of rediscovery and the detectability of extinction in mammals | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 278 | issue = 1708 | pages = 1090–1097 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 20880890 | pmc = 3049027 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2010.1579 }}</ref> and around 80 mammal species have gone extinct since that time and 2015.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Ceballos G, Ehrlich AH, Ehrlich PR |year=2015|title=The Annihilation of Nature: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-1-4214-1718-9 |page=69}}</ref> Some species, such as the [[Père David's deer]]<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Jiang, Z. |author2=Harris, R.B. |date=2016 |title=''Elaphurus davidianus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T7121A22159785 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T7121A22159785.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> are [[extinct in the wild]], and survive solely in captive populations. Other species, such as the [[Florida panther]], are [[Ecological extinction|ecologically extinct]], surviving in such low numbers that they essentially have no impact on the ecosystem.<ref name=mckinney2013>{{cite book |chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes |id=hBntufCOxAsC |page=318}} | vauthors = McKinney ML, Schoch R, Yonavjak L |year=2013 |title=Environmental Science: Systems and Solutions|edition=5th|chapter=Conserving Biological Resources |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-1-4496-6139-7|oclc=777948078}}</ref>{{rp|318}} Other populations are only [[Local extinction|locally extinct]] (extirpated), still existing elsewhere, but reduced in distribution,<ref name=mckinney2013/>{{rp|75–77}} as with the extinction of [[grey whale]]s in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of marine mammals |page=404 |year=2009 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-373553-9 | vauthors = Perrin WF, Würsig BF, Thewissen JG | author-link3 = Hans Thewissen |oclc=455328678}}</ref>