US to declare 23 types of birds, fish and other species extinct
Al Jazeera
Officials say the move will free up resources for on-the-ground conservation efforts for species that can still be rescued.
Death has come knocking a last time for the splendid ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more birds, fish and other species: The US government is declaring them extinct.
It is a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal, but government scientists say they have exhausted efforts to find these 23. And they warn climate change, on top of other pressures, could make such disappearances more common as a warming planet adds to the dangers facing imperiled plants and wildlife.
The ivory-billed woodpecker was perhaps the best-known species that will be pronounced extinct on Wednesday by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It went out stubbornly and with fanfare, making unconfirmed appearances in recent decades that ignited a frenzy of ultimately fruitless searches in the swamps of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
