Global mourning: climate change takes on another victim

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This small rodent is officially extinct because of this environmental problem. The conservation efforts were not enough

The list of animals in danger of extinction of species of flora and fauna grows rapidly and so does the number of animals that disappear completely from earth. This is the unfortunate case of the Bramble Cay Melomys, which became completely extinct due to climate change. The Melomys was a small brown mouse, whose population was threatened since the 70s.

Leer en español: Luto mundial: el cambio climático cobra otra víctima

The Guardian reported that this small rodent disappeared definitively due to the repeated oceanic floods that occur in the island where it lived. The floods are a consequence of the increase in the sea and the loss of habitats that it has caused. The small island has 4 hectares on the Great Barrier Reef and belongs to Australia.

Despite efforts to preserve the species, these were not enough. For this reason, Green Party Senator Janet Rice said that "the extinction of Bramble Cay's melomys is a real tragedy." Rice, Senator of the Greens' Party, leads a Senate investigation into the extinction crisis in the country, according to CNN.

For this senator, the problem would be "the addiction to coal". Rice believes that Australia's extraction and mining policies are "the death sentence for many of our other threatened animals."

Should we care that the Melomys has become extinct?

The extinction of this small mouse is the first recorded in which a mammal disappears as a result of climate change. Even if it is only a small mouse, its disappearance is cause for concern, reflection, and immediate action.

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Its extinction, beyond regretting it, should make us reflect on the deep crisis in which the planet is. Increasing temperatures, poor air quality, deforestation, among other problems, are substantial evidence that we are not doing things right.

According to the University of Connecticut, if the temperature of the planet continues to rise, 8% of the world's species could be extinct. CNN assures that South America, Australia, and New Zealand are the regions with the highest risk of suffering these losses.

LatinAmerican Post | Marcela Peñaloza
Translated from "Luto mundial: el cambio climático cobra otra víctima"