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Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction

Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction
Posted at 4:27 PM, Mar 10, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-10 23:38:04-05

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — After more than a decade of monitoring eagles, Roger Newell has become an expert.

"This is the fifth nest I've been to today," he said, "[A] lot of times I just sit in my truck to watch them," he said.

But even after all that time, his excitement about a sighting is still fresh—catching him mid-sentence as we spoke.

Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction

"I'm sure it's in that pine tree back there behind these trees," he laughed after seeing an eagle fly past.

The Valrico nest we met him at is one of 19 that he tracks as part of the EagleWatch Program for Audubon Florida—a nonprofit that focuses on conservation efforts for birds in our state.

The goal is to be the eyes and ears of the group, so they can keep tabs on how the state's eagle population is doing.

He's also a member of the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay, which rescues birds of prey in the area.

Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction

The nonprofit's founder Nancy Murrah tells us eagles hold a special place in her heart because, technically, they shouldn't be here after a brush with extinction in the 1960s.

"Today, they're truly a success story. If you look at back [to] when I was a little girl. There was very few eagles in the lower 48 states. And today I think there's 2500 pairs in Florida," she said.

But even with their miraculous recovery, Murrah isn't fully breathing a sigh of relief.

"I can tell you I look into their nest and I know they're doing better and I still worry; I still think just because they're not on the endangered species list doesn't mean we don't need to keep taking care of them, watching them and making sure they're safe," she said.

To understand the true scope of these birds' current dangers, we spoke to a leader with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in the Orlando area.

"They have a lot of threats here in Florida, especially with the rate of development anytime you have a lot of people. A lot of eagles get struck by cars. They are scavengers; they will eat roadkill along with the vultures, so a lot of them will get stuck on the side of the road while eating," said Shawnlei Breeding, the Eagle Program Manager, "They are electrocuted. They get poisoned with rodenticide, which gets used in a lot of urban areas, businesses will put it out and unfortunately, if eagles take that rat back to the nest that's eaten the rodenticide, it can cause issues in the young."

And she tells us, once again, the answer to protecting them lies with us.

"I think just in general, any way you can look at your own life and what you're doing and are you recycling or trying to just take small steps. Everyone can do one small thing, I think," she said.

But more than 100 miles south, just off the beaten path at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers—we learn from an FGCU biologist and animal behavior expert that the conservation efforts we've given to some animals like eagles haven't been spread evenly to other species.

Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction

"So we are in the middle of what's identified as the sixth mass extinction throughout the history of the planet. There have been five mass extinctions and these have eliminated over 90 percent of the species," said Dr. Billy Gunnels, "We're in the first extinction that's not about something extraterrestrial or climate; this is human-based mass extinction."

Dr. Gunnels also tells us that the extinction rate for many plants and animals is speeding up.

"A good example of this is the number of large mammals that are on landmasses, terrestrial landmasses; they are down by over 70 percent since 1970. It means that elephants are still there, but the overall number of elephants has dramatically declined," he said.

But it's a grim reality that doesn't have to stay that way and a student of Dr. Gunnels, Ella Guedouar, points to a familiar Florida staple as another prime example.

"We have made a lot of success, especially in Florida with—I use the American Alligator a lot because it's such a great example of how we've saved a species. So those numbers were dwindling and we were losing alligators from hunting and habitat loss. Now we have 1.25 million alligators just from listing it as an endangered species, implementing monitoring programs, protecting it legally," said Guedouar.

Scientists say earth is experiencing sixth mass extinction

Guedouar and Dr. Gunnels are also seeing work to reverse the current extinction rate take root in real-time in Africa and the Peruvian rainforest.

"Well, Peru has been very proactive trying to come up with ways in which people can live there, use the farm, slash and burn, but then proactively raise the tree crops that will be able to seed a new forest which will also provide those farmers some economic resource when they come back 25, 35 years later," said Dr. Gunnels.

And it's a mindset of living and developing with nature in mind that they say we must adopt more broadly here in America.

"If we don't try to coexist, we're not going to be successful. And the reason we're not going to be successful is there are so many people and people have needs. If we're just telling you the only way that we can protect nature is by disengaging with it, separating, putting it over there, I don't think we're going to be successful."

And back in Valrico, they agree as Newell and Murrah set their sights on the future of Florida's eagles.

"It's nobody's responsibility to take care of wildlife, so therefore it's everybody's responsibility," said Murrah.