Earth is on track for a mass extinction, and humans are to blame, study says

Today’s animal species are disappearing at a rate up to 100 times higher than they did in the past -- and humans are responsible, a new study warns.

Since the year 1500, at least 338 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have become extinct, researchers reported Friday in the journal Scientific Advances. Among the vanished are the Caribbean monk seal (Neomonachus tropicalis), the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Crucially, 198 of these species have been wiped out since 1900