Why mass extinctions matter
Humans are causing the worst species loss for millions of years – but there is still time to act
Earth is at the beginning of its sixth mass extinction event, the worst since dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago.
The disappearance of thousands of species, caused largely by human activity, will have serious ecological, economic and social consequences, experts warn.
“It’s folly to think we can drive almost half of everything else to extinction, but we will be just fine,” says veteran National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore (pictured below), whose three part documentary series, Photo Ark, begins on Nat Geo WILD at 8pm on 23 October.
The programme takes viewers behind the scenes on Sartore’s 25-year mission to photograph some of the rarest animals in the world, during which he has amassed studio portraits of more than 6,000 species, many of which no longer exist today.
There is some good news, though, as scientists say there is still time to slow the process down – but only if rapid and radical action is taken.
That’s where Sartore believes he can make a difference. “I’ve seen how photos can lead to change,” he says in the first episode of the series. “Pictures I’ve made of parrots in South America and koalas in Australia help pressure local governments to protect those animals.”
By looking these animals in the eye, we begin to care about them and understand their importance to the health of our planet.