Extinction 

happens when environmental factors or evolutionary problems cause a species to die out.
The disappearance of species from Earth is ongoing, and rates have varied over time. A quarter of
mammals is at risk of extinction, according to IUCN Red List estimates. To some extent, extinction is
natural.

Species extinction is a natural process that occurs without the intervention of humans since,
over geological time, all species have a finite span of existence. Extinctions caused directly or indirectly
by humans are occurring at a rate that far exceeds any reasonable estimates of background extinction
rates, and to the extent that these extinctions are correlated with habitat perturbation, they must be
increasing.

There are five main causes of extinction. Extinction can be caused by different elements including
catastrophic events, disease, predators, climate change, and competition.

The abusive and unsustainable use of natural resources not only harms the health of the planet, it also
wipes out entire species so that they disappear for ever. The frenetic loss of biodiversity means that a
million plants and animals are currently under threat. Others had even worse luck. Below we list some
of the extinct species that we can only reminisce about today.

Thanks to biodiversity, we human beings can benefit from food security and access to clean water and
raw materials. The biological balance also regulates the weather and slows down pollution. However,
this balance is threatened, in large part by humanity's insatiable urge for more foodstuffs and more
energy.

BIODIVERSITY TODAY

The extinction of species is not just anecdotal: the United Nations (UN) has warned that every day 150
species become extinct. According to a 2019 report on the biodiversity of the planet, 25 % of the
animals and plants analysed are in danger of extinction and only one-third of countries are on track to
reach their biological diversity targets.

The frenetic loss of biodiversity makes it difficult for conservationists to assess the decline of species in
real time, said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). To protect biodiversity it is necessary to make a commitment to environmental
conservationism, with measures to protect the environment: Breed animals in captivity for subsequent
release, create nature reserves, combat animal trafficking, etc.

WHAT IS AN EXTINCT SPECIES

It is considered that a species is extinct when the last known specimen dies without leaving a genetic
successor. The myth of the 50-year rule has lingered on (if a species has not been sighted during this
time, it is considered extinct), but in reality there is no specific time frame. Deciding whether a species is
completely extinct is complicated: sometimes, specimens of species thought to be extinct have been
discovered, known as a Lazarus taxon.

To confirm the disappearance of a species it is vital to check the Red List External link, opens in new
window. put out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For this list, which
began over 50 years ago, information is gathered from expert biologists, conservationists and
statisticians to record the conservation status of species.
TYPES OF EXTINCTION

Today, we can distinguish between two types of extinction, depending on the way the species
disappears:

 Phyletic extinction or pseudoextinction. One species disappears leaving behind another more

evolved one. The original species (ancestor) is considered to be extinct but its lineage continues.
There is no increase or decrease in diversity.

 Terminal extinction. A species becomes extinct without leaving descendants. Diversity therefore
decreases. This type is in turn subdivided into two:

o Background (or normal) terminal extinction. Continuing, gradual disappearance over

time.

o Mass terminal extinction. Worldwide with a common trigger event. It must be quick and
affect a large number of unrelated organisms. Dinosaurs, for example.
What can we humans do to care for animals?

CAUSES OF ANIMAL EXTINCTION

Over 99 % of organisms that used to live on earth do not exist any more. In general terms, species
become extinct for the following reasons:

  Demographic and genetic phenomena

First of all, species with small populations face a greater risk of extinction. Also, natural selection does its
job by keeping beneficial genetic traits and eliminating poor ones. There are animals with a good gene
pool that is robust and more adaptable to unforeseen exogenous circumstances, and others that are
weaker.

  Destruction of wild habitats

Man is a direct cause of the extinction of species: out of the 8 million existing, 1 million are in danger
due to overexploitation of resources on land and at sea. In addition, one fifth of the surface of the Earth
has been degraded —the forests are home to over 80 % of terrestrial species— and marine debris and
acidification are wreaking havoc in the oceans.

  Introduction of invasive species

The introduction of exotic and invasive species artificially, intentionally or accidentally into habitats
where they do not belong can also alter the biodiversity of ecosystems. These new inhabitants displace
the native species, which, in the worst cases, die and become extinct. According to the UN, in
Europe, one out of every three species is in danger of extinction for this reason.

  Climate change

The rising global temperature and sea levels have a negative effect on biodiversity. According to the

WWF, half of the plant and animal species in the richest natural areas of the world could suffer local
extinction by the end of the century due to climate change. Even without exceeding the 2 °C limit set by
the Paris Agreement 25 % of their species could disappear.

  Hunting and illegal trafficking

The black market, which moves between €8 billion and €20 billion a year, threatens over 300 species
that are already on the verge of extinction. According to the World Wildlife Crime Report, published by
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), over 30,000 elephants, 100 tigers and 1,000
rhinoceroses are slaughtered each year.

TOP TEN RECENTLY EXTINCT ANIMALS WORLDWIDE

According to the IUCN Red List, in November 2020, the three latest extinct animals in the world were a
fish (Sympterichthys unipennis), a bat (Pipistrellus sturdeei) and an insect (Pseudoyersinia brevipennis).
These almost unknown animals prove that this phenomenon can affect any living being. We review
some of the most important extinctions in recent years below:

Golden toad (Incilius periglenes)

Considered the first direct victim of climate change, its characteristic fluorescent orange colour ceased
to adorn Costa Rica in 1989, although it was not pronounced extinct until 2004. The toads were
abandoning their eggs as the pools in the forest dried up.

Caribbean monk seal (Neomonachus tropicalis)

This victim of the insatiable desire to trade in its pelts and fat was declared extinct in 1994. Trusting and
docile, it was an easy prey for human beings, who wiped out all the specimens that inhabited the
Caribbean Sea and Central American coast.

Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, considered a subspecies of the Spanish ibex)

Considered a subspecies of the mountain goat, it went away a decade ago. A native of the Pyrenees,
with long hair and long horns, it fell victim to indiscriminate hunting and a lack of foresight in preparing
a conservation plan.

Kamao (Myadestes myadestinus)

The Hawaiian thrush, a solitary brown bird with a short, broad beak, used to be the most common bird
on the island of Kauai (Hawaii). Its extinction in 2004 was due to competition with other introduced
birds, diseases transmitted by non-native mosquitoes and the deforestation of its normal areas.
Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pirenaica).

Rinoceronte-negro-ocidental (Diceros bicornis longipes).

Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii).

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Western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes, considered a subspecies of Diceros bicornis)

Sometimes the tools provided by nature to fend for yourself can destroy you. This is what happened to
this rhinoceros, which became a target for poachers who wanted its horns for their supposed healing
powers. The IUCN declared it extinct in 2011.

Pinta Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii)

The intrusion of human beings into the natural habitat of this variety of tortoises on the Galapagos
Islands (Ecuador) caused it to disappear forever in 2012. The efforts made to cross the last
specimen, already a hundred years old, known as Solitary George, with females from other islands were
in vain.

Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi)

In the 1980s they roamed far and wide over this island in the Indian Ocean, but over the years it became
rare to spot one. Only one specimen was seen in August 2009 and in 2017, after years of exhaustive
searches, it was declared extinct.
REPORTING IN ENGLISH

Onomatopoeia

-Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the
sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias
include animal noises such as oink, meow, roar, and chirp. 

-It is a poem or a sentence you can hear.

EXAMPLE:

Beach Orchestra

By Fil Bufalo, Australia 2013

The waves are racing

Towards the shore
Booming crashing… more more more!
The sand is crunching beneath my feet
Boom crash crunch crunch
I march to the beat
Sandcastles toppling
Umbrellas whisking by
Storm clouds brewing
Land meets sky
Booming waves
Biting wind
Full grey clouds.
Let the storm begin.

Rhyme

-Rhyme, along with meter, helps make a poem musical. In traditional poetry, a regular rhyme aids the
memory for recitation and gives predictable pleasure.

It is the correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are
used at the ends of lines of poetry.

EXAMPLE:

A Letter from A Blue Bird to An Owl

Gillian Reyes

Scents of lime with hints of sage.

Watching the night turn slowly into day
As I watch you drifting off to sleep,
Before I begin my journey deep
 It has always been like this,

Me dancing in the daylight

While you, in the night mist.

For once, a blue bird fell in love with an owl,

And the owl with her too
I promise to always wait for you,
Till the beautiful sun sets and the sunset we will view.

Assonance

-Is the repetition of vowels without repetition of consonants (as in stony and holy) used as an alternative
to rhyme in verse.: resemblance of sound in words or syllables.

In poetry, Assonance is the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed
syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible (e.g., penitence, reticence ).

EXAMPLE:

The following is a simple example of assonance: She seems to beam rays of sunshine with her eyes of
green. In this example, the speaker uses assonance to describe a pretty woman. Assonance occurs in the
repeating vowel sounds of seems, beam, and green.

The Cold Wind Blows

By Kelly Roper

Who knows why the cold wind blows

Or where it goes, or what it knows
It only flows in passionate throes
Until it finally slows and settles in repose

Fire and Ice

By Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Refrain

-In poetry, a refrain is a word, line or phrase that is repeated within the lines or stanzas of the poem
itself. It also appears in songs.

EXAMPLE:

Twinkle, Twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle, Twinkle little star

In many music experts' opinions, a refrain is not like a chorus when a chorus is the pinnacle of a song
or the climactic point that the verse leads to. A refrain is simply a line or a phrase repeated that might
not be a climax in the song but more of a familiar song element that can be compared to the post-
chorus.

A group of words repeated at certain parts in a poem, song, or speech.

EXAMPLE:

A song with a repeated chorus.

WALTZING MATILDA

Who’ll come a-waltzing

Matilda, my darling,

Who’ll come a-waltzing

Matilda with me?

Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag –

Who’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

GILLIAN REYES
9-JOYFUL, SET A ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT