3 ms·
Have we ever on-purpose driven another species to extinction in order to save ourselves?
by themartorana 11y ago
Have we ever on-purpose driven another species to extinction in order to save ourselves?
- hguant 11y agoThe polio virus comes to mind.
- danieltillett 11y agoWe haven’t quite got there yet, but I hope we do soon [1] 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/health/world-health-organization-polio-health-emergency.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/health/world-health-organi...
- rewqfdsa 11y agoSmallpox is the best example. Today, it exists only in closely-guarded labs. In prehistory, we also wiped out all the megafauna outside Africa --- partly because they were delicious, I'm sure, but also partly because they found us delicious.
- danieltillett 11y agoSmallpox is the classical example of this, but most large predators (wolves, bears, etc) have been driven to extinction in locations where humans are found in large numbers. You could argue that the Tasmanian tiger was driven to extinction for commercial reasons as it was hunted to protect sheep flocks [1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine
- rdtsc 11y agoTo save, maybe not. But we sure did it for other reasons -- like say to hurt others, or for economic reasons. One example is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison_hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison_hunting We went from 30 million on North American continent around 16th century, to a few hundred around 19th century.
- sitkack 11y agoWe were trying to exterminate the American Indian.
- maaku 11y agoJust about every large predatory animal ever.
- vilhelm_s 11y agoAlso, the Guinea worm eradication program is getting quite close to succeeding. (http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/guinea-worm-how-close-are-we-eradication-21115 http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/guinea-wo...)
- lukasm 11y agoMost big cats in Europe. Possibly Aurochs.
- Nano2rad 11y agoNeanderthals. Perhaps it can be considered first world war.