- In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms, normally a species is extinct when the last existing member dies.
- Extinction therefore becomes a certainty when there are no surviving individuals that can reproduce and create a new generation. A species may become functionally extinct when only a handful of individuals survive, which cannot reproduce due to poor health, age, sparse distribution over a large range, a lack of individuals of both sexes (in sexually reproducing species), or other reasons.
- Causes:
- Genetics and demographic phenomena
- Genetic pollution
- Habitat degradation
- Predation, competition, and disease
- Co extinction
- Climate change
- Poaching