what’s the difference between a rare animal and one that’s going extinct?
In: Biology
Consider two animals. A population of 100 rare blind fish that only exist in one deep cave that hasn’t changed much for millions of years, and a population of 100 rhinos being hunted by poachers.
The blind fish are few in number because their habitat can not support more, but they’re not really in danger because their environment is stable. They’re not likely to face any threats unless something drastic happens like an earthquake breaking up their cave or humans drilling into it. Assuming things go on as they are, they’ll stay around for another million years.
The rhinos on the other hand used to have a much bigger population, but now they’re on the decline. They’re in the process of being hunted to extinction. If things continue as they are, poachers will hunt them faster than they reproduce until they’re eventually all gone.
The difference is that one faces a relatively new threat that has it on the decline while the other is in a stable situation.
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