Extinction facts and facts about extinctions, from the Random Facts shelf.
3 facts on this shelf
The baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, was declared functionally extinct after a 2006 survey failed to find any. It was the first dolphin species thought to be wiped out mainly by human activity.
A 2013 study estimated that humans kill about 100 million sharks each year, many for their fins, which has pushed many species toward extinction.
The International Whaling Commission put a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling into effect in 1986 after many whale species had been hunted close to extinction.