3 Species Lost Every Hour Says U.N.

On the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22, 2007, scientists gave reports on the threats that creatures on earth face due to human activities. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (left) says that "Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate."

Environmentalists agree that what's happening today is the worst extinction since the time of the dinosaurs. He adds that "Extinction rates are rising by a factor of up to 1,000 above natural rates. Every hour, three species disappear. Every day, up to 150 species are lost. Every year, between 18,000 and 55,000 species become extinct." He says humans are to blame.

The coyote pictured above, for instance, are now found to be entering human habitation centers because of it's dwindling habitat. One even casually entered a sandwich shop in New York and sat on a comfy chair, unmindful of the customers,who cautiously filed out before the authorities came to get it out and back into the wilderness. The Florida garter snake pictured a few posts earlier may have the same story to tell.