Climate change has officially led to the extinction of a mammal, the Australian rat
A small brown rat which lived on an island off northern Australia is the world's first mammal known to have become extinct due to “human-induced climate change.”
New Delhi: According to the Australian government, a small brown rat which lived on an island off northern Australia is the world's first mammal known to have become extinct due to “human-induced climate change.”
News agency AFP reported, a report by the University of Queensland in 2016 stated that the mammal, Bramble Cay melomys, which had not been seen for almost 10 years was initially pronounced extinct after “exhaustive” conservation efforts failed. Meanwhile, the Australian government confirmed it on Monday. According to the 2016 report, the cause of its extinction was from rising sea levels over the past decade which led to major habitat loss.
Reportedly, the Bramble Cay melomys inhabited a small coral island on the Great Barrier Reef. The island was located in the Torres Strait, between Queensland state and Papua New Guinea. It was about five hectares (12 acres).
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The AFP report further mentioned that Geoff Richardson, assistant secretary for environment and energy, said that it's not a decision to take lightly. He added that when something is listed as extinct it essentially ceases to get any protection.
In the 1970s, the population of the rodents occupied the island rapidly declined. And by 1992, the population had dropped so sharply that the Queensland state government classified the species as endangered. Meanwhile, Greens party senator Janet Rice told AFP that the melomys' extinction is 'an absolute tragedy'.