Extinction A Force Of Nature

Today, extinction is a term we associate with the spiralling loss of species at human hands. Yet it is also an entirely natural phenomenon that is as creative as it is destructive.

- Ben Garrod

For as long as there has been life on Earth, there has been extinction. It’s easy to assume that extinction must be a terrible thing, and that we should do everything we can to stop a species from disappearing. We strive to avoid death throughout our lives, so we naturally see extinction as something to fight. But just as death will come to each of us, every species of animal, plant, fungus and microbe will eventually be consigned to the history books.

One million species across the planet are currently threatened with extinction. It’s a devastating statistic that instils an instant fight response. But as we place extinction under the microscope, we learn that it is a wholly natural biological process that actually helps to drive evolution. Species evolve; they adapt and they go extinct.

It’s a difficult and confusing narrative during a global ecological emergency, but if we are to stand any chance in prioritising species for conservation, saving vulnerable habitats and ecosystems, and ensuring we are not responsible for one of the most devastating episodes in the history of life on Earth, then we need to understand extinction itself.

So, what drives extinction, and what makes some species disappear more easily than others? We associate the word ‘extinction’ with two things. First, the dinosaurs, because they’re probably the group we most associate as having gone through the extinction process. There’s every chance a Triceratops is galloping through your thoughts right now.