"The Sixth Extinction" Chapter 11

Kolbert provides the reader with information about mostly different types of rhinos and how “megafauna” species are becoming increasingly threatened. In the beginning, Kolbert speaks about Suci, a Sumatran rhino, that lives in the Cincinnati Zoo and the process by which scientists are attempting to make her pregnant. Suci is given hormone injections frequently to cause her ovaries to stimulate so that she could become pregnant; this process has been done because the Sumatran rhino is on the verge of becoming extinct. Unfortunately, Suci kept having miscarriages that were unexplainable; however, once she was put “on liquid hormone supplement…” (Kolbert, 221) she was able to have a successful full-term pregnancy. If this type of rhino is saved and break away from the threat of extinction, it would be thanks to the efforts of scientists like Dr. Terri Roth that carried out the procedure.

The chapter continues on with discussing other “megafauna” whose populations are decreasing. In fact, “most large cats- lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars- are in decline” (Kolbert, 223) because of poaching, hunting, and possibly climate change. Climate change is always a factor when it comes to the negative effects that organisms are facing because it undeniably affects the organisms’ environments. Big Bone Lick is a historic site that is home for many fossils, some of which were picked up by historical scientists like Cuvier and Lyell. Lyell supported the belief that climate change was at fault for the extinction of these large animals, whereas many other scientists argue that humans are to blame. I believe that if we blame climate change, then humans are a factor in that since we release a lot of carbon dioxide in the air that in turn causes global warming, thus leads to climate change. Something that struck me from this chapter was how Kolbert stated that, “The white rhino, also from Africa, is the only rhino species not currently classified as threatened.” (Kolbert, 222) The Sixth Extinction was written in 2014; unfortunately, many things have changed since that year, including how northern white rhinos are close to becoming classified as threatened. According to BBC News, the last surviving male white rhino in the world died in 2018. Being the last male, it is unquestionable that this species will soon become extinct because of inability to reproduce.

BBC News Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43468066