Few sights are more majestic than a bald eagle in flight, talons outstretched. New Jersey once boasted more than 20 nesting pairs of the beautiful birds. But in the 1970s, that number plummeted to a single male-female set. Now scientists say bald eagles are back from the brink of extinction in that state.
Extinction occurs when a plant or animal species has no living members. Any time deaths outnumber survivors of birth, a species is in danger.
Scientists say a certain amount of extinction is expected. Many species—dinosaurs, dodos, woolly mammoths, and saber-toothed cats to name a few—have disappeared since God created Earth and all that dwell in it.
Sometimes humans cause species endangerment and even extinction by excessive hunting, overharvesting, introducing invasive species, polluting, and building over habitats. Natural events, such as low birth rates, violent weather, and volcanic eruptions can also lead to extinction.
Here are some key numbers regarding global animal extinction:
·1: nesting pair of bald eagles in New Jersey from 1970 to 1982
·10: years before the Yangtze finless porpoise could be extinct
·40: animal species currently extinct in the wild according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN (Animals that are “extinct in the wild” but still have living specimens in captivity.)
·60: Javan rhinos thought to be left in the wild
·84: amur leopards thought to remain in the wild
·120: Hawaiian crows in existence
·267: nesting pairs of bald eagles in New Jersey in 2023
·1,200: possible Lazarus taxa species
·10,205: Père David’s deer, native to China, alive today
·41,000: species likely under threat of extinction according to IUCN
·633,200 square miles (1.2% worldwide): amount more land needed to be set as conservation areas to prevent the most likely projected plant and animal extinctions as estimated by the journal Frontiers in Science
·8.7 million: estimated number of plant and animal species in existence
Sometimes scientists working to prevent extinction re-discover a lost plant or animal species. “Resurrected” species are known as Lazarus taxa. (Taxa is the plural of taxon, which is a scientific class.) These are species scientists thought were extinct—until they showed up again. The reference is to the biblical Lazarus, though the animals weren’t actually dead.
Scientists think there may be over 1,000 Lazarus taxa species in hiding. Already-found Lazarus taxa include a dragon lizard, a pitcher plant, and the Wallace’s giant bee.
Voeltzkow’s chameleon became a Lazarus taxon in 2018. No one had seen one for over 100 years! But the animals weren’t deceased, only doing what chameleons do: hiding. And last November, scientists spied a living Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna on video in Indonesia. Surprise!
God cares about the lilies, and He counts the sparrows—and the eagles, lizards, bees, and echidnas. Humans should too!
Why? As stewards of God’s creation, humans are called to work hard to be good caretakers. That might mean helping to protect some species and introducing—or reintroducing—others.
