Interesting Facts

According to a study carried out by the WWF (World Wildlife Federation) 25% of Brits believe that the dodo still exists. (The unfortunate flightless bird actually became extinct over 400 years ago, and yet 14 per cent of the respondents believe it is currently under threat from hunters, whilst 12% said it was not even endangered!. % OF RESPONDENTS THAT MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED THE BELOW AS ENDANGERED SPECIES Red Admiral butterfly           38% Red kangaroo                        36% Swan                                       28% Weever fish                            28% Crane fly                                 21% Flamingo         ...

According to research from from the University of Leicester, rodents could evolve to fill niches as larger mammals go extinct. (The largest extinct rodent known to science was Josephoartegasia monesi. It lived three million years ago, was larger than a bull, and weighed over a ton. Like its modern-day relative, the sheep-sized capybara, it lived in South America. Gigantism is a well known evolutionary response that occurs when a small creature steps into an ecological niche left by a larger species. Rats the size of sheep!  If that isn't a good enough reason to protect the elephant, rhino and other species from extinction, I don't know what is.)