Earth Day: four missing animals from Latin America in the last 15 years

Hunting, habitat deforestation and global warming are among the factors that have contributed to the disappearance of these four species of animal kingdom in Latin America.

Many actions of the human being contribute to the extinction of animals.

This exotic bird that you have locked in a small cage or the little interest in global warming is contributing to the disappearance of species on the planet.

Since 1992, the

United Nations

(UN) declared April 22 as International Mother Earth Day and this year is dedicated to the preservation of species affected by the environmental impact generated by humans on Earth. Various international organizations have announced that they will strengthen their protection programs for specimens threatened with extinction.

However, it is already too late for some animals and future generations can only know them by photographs. These are four animals that lived in Latin America and have disappeared because of the human being.

The blue macaw

Yes, this blue bird that figured in the animated film "Rio" was extinguished in its natural habitat in 2000, 11 years before the premiere of the film, whose central theme was to warn against the danger of extinction of this macaw. This endemic species of Brazil is extinct in its wild form due to deforestation in its environment and mbad hunting intended to be marketed as an exotic bird for its peculiar beauty, as the l revealed a study by the Bird Life organization in September 2018.

The report states that although the species is extinct in the wild, there are between 60 and 80 blue macaws that survive in captivity.

The giant tortoise of Pinta

The last giant tortoise of the Galapagos Islands has spent most of its existence without any other companion of its kind.

The last specimen of this species lived in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. He was known as Solitaire George and died on June 24, 2012 because of the attrition of his age, over 100 years old.

The population of this turtle species has declined to extinction due to excessive hunting to eat its meat and exchange its shell. In the era of pirates and buccaneers of the eighteenth century, it was discovered that turtles could survive several months in the hold of a ship without food or water.

Mariners, particularly the whalers who frequented the waters of the Galapagos in the 19th century, began extracting a large number of live turtles and storing them at the bottom of their boats as a source of fresh meat during their long journeys, said Linda. J. Cayot, Member. of the organization
Galapagos Conservancy, dedicated to preserving the life of Solitaire George.

The golden toad

These amphibians have ceased to exist in the absence of conditions for their reproduction.

This type of amphibian has been a victim of global warming. For its reproduction, a certain level of humidity was necessary, but the climatic changes in its habitat altered the ecosystem and never reproduced.

They lived in the ponds of Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. According to the Tropical Science Center (CTC) of Costa Rica, these ponds have dried up due to a drastic change in the temperature of the area that prevented the fog that protected them from forming. The last time this amphibian was seen, it was in 1989. In 2008, the CTC made an expedition to the forests to search for a survivor and said he had not found any specimens. It is already declared extinct.

The seal of the Caribbean nuns

The fishing industry has benefited from the sale of the skin and the fat of this seal.

This marine mammal that swam by currents in the Gulf of Mexico was declared extinct in 2008.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has indicated that its disappearance was due to human causes. The fishing industry hunted this seal species in order to obtain its skin, its fat and its trade.

On this day of Mother Earth, under the slogan "Protect our species", the UN is seeking to raise awareness of the risk to biodiversity and how it is primarily affected by predatory activities by humans.