A Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert: Chapter Analysis

As the world continues to become increasingly more globalized, people are more focused on the impact it may have on one kind of animal, humans. Through this anthropocentric way of thinking, the impact of globalization on all animals besides humans is often not recognized despite the vast importance that it holds. As the human world continues to work towards globalization, or a more interconnected world, the livelihood and future of nearly all animal species is threatened.
The book, “A Sixth Extinction”, written by Elizabeth Kolbert, provides insight into the deeply rooted impact humans have caused on the natural world in a way that no species has done before. The largest and most devastating impact on animals that results from human globalization
is the threatening or endangerment of entire species. The evidence for this is vast but Kolbert examines one species in particular that has exhibited a rapid decrease in population. The Panamanian golden frog is an amphibian whose population was once booming but has since dropped drastically to the point that the few remaining survivors are kept in an amphibian conservation center and their environment is carefully controlled to prevent any further deaths.
Once it was discovered that a fungus was impacting the golden frogs, scientists began to learn of other amphibian populations across every continent declining at an equally rapid rate because of the same fungi. Kolbert describes amphibians as one of the planet’s great survivors with ancestors tracing back to a time before dinosaurs, which creates even more concern as many species quickly become threatened. While it was at first puzzling to know how this fungus was traveling to other continents, the
answer was quickly found in globalization. Whether the fungus was in shipments of frogs sent to Africa or on North American bullfrogs sent to Europe for consumption, Kolbert firmly states, “Without being loaded by someone onto a boat or a plane, it would have been impossible.”(Pg. 18) As humans become more interconnected and strive to spread themselves and their products into other countries, small impacts such as the Chytrid fungi on amphibians are unknown until it is too late.
Another massive impact that globalization has had on animals across the globe is habitat loss which in many cases can lead to the endangerment of the animal population.
As human populations continue to grow, there is a greater requirement of more land for everything from infrastructure to waste deposit which can infringe on the natural habitats of countless species. Kolbert writes about the Sumatran Rhino whose habitat originally was around the foothills of the Himalayas but due to a high rate of deforestation their habitat became fragmented and was reduced to a few hundred. This grave fragmentation of the species made it incredibly difficult to breed and recover their numbers which led to rhinoceros captive breeding programs. The deforestation that caused such drastic habitat loss was specifically for fulfilling human needs regardless of the other species that their actions affected. Despite the plight that these rhinos had to deal with, humans still found a way to benefit as forty of the endangered rhinos were sent to zoos in the United States. The shipment of these animals shows the hold that globalization has on our world as we continue to exploit living beings for entertainment after we have effectively diminished their
habitat.
“The Zookeeper’s Wife” by Diane Ackerman shows how animals were and still are used in metropolitan settings and how globalization and certain human controversies, such as war, can affect their livelihood. One way this relates to globalization is that as exotic animals are brought to cities, mass amounts of humans both from the surrounding area but also surrounding countries are drawn in, creating a more globalized and connected city. In most cases, acquiring these animals for human entertainment is an unnatural process and ultimately takes animals out of their habitat and puts them into a confined, manmade one. Another impact that globalization had on animals in this novel was the reign of Nazi Germany in Europe. The successful spread of Nazi power into the Zabinski’s town resulted in devastation of their zoo and of many animals. As the Nazi Germans bombed and took over the Zabinski’s Zoo in Warsaw, there was both a disregard and selfishness surrounding the animal’s welfare due to the focus on overtaking the area with Nazi power. The animals in the zoo had no ability to protect themselves due to the confined situation they were in and are forced to succumb to the devastation brought by the war.
All of these are examples of how humans and their desire to globalize has negatively impacted the welfare of a myriad of different species, ranging from a fungus spreading from cargo ships to the retrieval of animals from the wild for human entertainment. It is important to recognize these impacts because without recognition or understanding, humans too are at risk.