Hawaii: The Extinction Capital of the World

(Image credit: AussieActive/Unsplash)

I bet we're all aware that due to several climate and environmental factors, many species in the world are going extinct. Currently, there are more than 44,000 species on the verge of extinction, according to the IUCN's Red List of Endangered Species. And many species including Hawaiian snails are under threat of extinction.

In fact, many species that have gone extinct were native to Hawaii. Efforts are being made to conserve and preserve these species funded by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Different labs in Hawaii are working to keep them alive, just like David Sischo's lab which is part of Hawaii's Snail Extinction Prevention Program (SEPP).

Apart from snails, there are also birds, insects, fish, and plants which have gone extinct over the decades. In fact, just recently, the US Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared 21 species extinct worldwide. And eight of those were Hawaiian birds.

Read more at Vox.