Caribbean Monk Seals Declared Extinct

US federal officials have finally declared that the Caribbean monk seal is extinct, just as the dodo is no longer here. According to the National Geographic News website, humans that have been hunting them for food, skin, and blubber finally left the population so unstable that it collapsed. Biologists warn that the MEditerranean and Hawaiian monk seals could be the next to go if they continue to be hunted. The last confirmed sighting of a wild Carribean monk seal was in 1952. The National Oceanix Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service confirmed that the species is now extinct. This means that this species is the only seal to be wiped out by humans as the cause. There are now fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining in the wild and their populations are slowly declining. Hawaiian monk seals face other problems other than hunting. However, humans are still the cause of their decline. Monk seals generally get tangled in marin debris, are affected by climate change, and coastal development. This just goes to show how much we care about the environment. As the next generation, we are responsible for making sure that we learn from our earlier mistakes and stop extinctions of happening. Although extinction is a natural process, the advent of technology has caused rapid climate change and new problems to emerge for wildlife and various environments of the world. We should procure new ways of doing things and finding power in order to reduce our impact on Earth. The planet is not going to grow and recover no matter what we throw at it. Soon, if we throw enough crap at it, it’ll come back to bite us in the ass. Please, take care of our environment and stay environmentally-conscious. Live green! Check out Treehugger for more information and Greenhome for some clean green alternatives.