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• Featured Scientists
Combating Mass Extinction
The Mesozoic Era ended with the fifth mass extinction, which killed more than 50% of life on Earth—including all dinosaurs except birds. But a sixth mass extinction began around 10,000 years ago and is still happening today.
Human activity is responsible for this mass extinction.
Early on, extreme climate and environmental change may have led to species loss. But today, human activity is destroying habitats, causing species to go extinct at a rapid rate. For the first time in Earth’s history, a single species—humans—is the primary cause of a mass extinction.
Scientists estimate we’ve lost 30,000 species in the last year.
The normal rate of extinction is one species every four years. But at our current rate, we’re losing 82 species every day, 4 species every hour. And because the Earth is home to far more species than we’ve identified, there are surely many species going extinct unnoticed.
 The Field Museum is serious about conservation.
Our 200-plus Field Museum scientists work in more than 90 countries to better understand the unique and complex planet that is our home. Whether it’s documenting species in Madagascar or analyzing DNA right here in our labs, at the heart of this research is the belief that better understanding leads to better caretaking.
Our partnerships with research institutions, private organizations, and local communities have already yielded the protection of nearly 35,000 square miles of land (roughly the size of the state of Ohio), a number that grows each year.
Our conservation initiatives also involve training the next generation of scientists in conservation, biodiversity science, and other important areas of natural history.
Continue to Interactives >>
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