Since childhood, I’ve been deeply bothered by the idea of extinction. The idea that anyone could wake up one day & there simply be nothing is something that has never quite sat right with me.

Its direct impact can often feel minimal to us, but the risk affects more than just wildlife. It also commonly faces many domestic species. Oftentimes, when it comes to domestics they’re kept for a purpose & the dark truth is that as times change many of them lose their purpose, this loss of purpose not only results in an increase of abandonment but often a decrease in that species over time. It’s something that has affected pets & livestock; oftentimes not only are we losing these unique animals in addition to the wildlife we lose on a yearly basis but we lose history as well.

An example is the “Turn Spit Dog” - this medieval breed was used to run on a wheel to turn meat. As civilization developed their need lessened until ultimately this breed went extinct; because this dog was often used by “common folk” & was regarded as a low being, there was no record effectively kept about them, ultimately not only losing the species but the history of not only the breed as a whole but its direct effect of progress towards the future.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an exact number of species lost. Currently science has a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than we do about how many species are on earth, because of this it makes it difficult to understand just how many we lose each year. It’s estimated that we lose on average anywhere from 200 - 10,000 a year (with some estimating that we lose up to 100,000 a year). While there are many organizations working to not only conserve animals & plants on both a wild & domestic front, it’s important that not only do we try to do whatever we can when we are able but that we truly cherish the species we have while we have them.

(I used a Red Panda for this as they’re a favorite of mine & are currently facing extinction)