Where Are All the Animals?

A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the loss of animal species worldwide and a significant reduction in their habitat (The Guardian, July 10, 2017). Some land animal species have lost 80 percent of their range since 1900, while a 2014 report of 3,000 different species “indicated that 50% of individual animals have been lost since 1970.” While some scientists fear we are now in a period of mass extinction, others feel we are just on the edge of that period. The conclusion of this study is sobering: “Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.”

Despite arguments over the mechanisms driving the destruction of animal populations worldwide, the reality is that mankind’s self-interest and poor management of the ecosystem clearly plays a role. The Bible reveals that God gave human beings the responsibility of stewardship over His creation (Genesis 1:28; 2:15)—for which we will be held accountable (Hosea 4:1-3). The Scriptures also reveal there is a time of judgment coming, and when Jesus Christ returns He is going to “destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18). According to the Scriptures, God does not take lightly the decimation of His creatures.

However, there is a more exciting future ahead for humanity and the creation. For more about this exciting future, read or listen to The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like?