A small brown rat from a tiny island off northern Australia is the world’s first mammal known to have become extinct due to “human-induced climate change.”
The Bramble Cay melomys once inhabited a small coral island on the Great Barrier Reef, CNN reported.
The mammal had not been seen for almost 10 years and was initially pronounced extinct in 2016 after “exhaustive” conservation efforts failed. That classification was confirmed by the Australian government this week.
I'm incredibly saddened and angry at the extinction of the Bramble Cay Melomys, the first mammal to go extinct due to man-made climate change. Why must those in charge ignore the signs? The writings on the wall.
I don't comment on these things but something needs to be done. Now. pic.twitter.com/Z0k3EhY6nz— Dan Natoli (@NatoGamerTV) February 20, 2019
The cause of its extinction was “almost certainly ocean inundation” from rising sea levels over the past decade, which had led to “dramatic habitat loss,” according to the report.
“It’s not a decision to take lightly,” Geoff Richardson, assistant secretary for environment and energy, told members of the Senate. “When something is listed as extinct it essentially ceases to get any protection.”
Several hundred of the rodents occupied the island in the 1970s, but their population rapidly declined into “endangered” by 1992.
Critics of Australia’s conservation efforts said the extinction of the melomys is symptomatic of a lack of resources surrounding preservation efforts.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
