The Last 4.5 Billion Years

Earth's history through the lens of the 42 most endangered species. Scroll down to witness the arc of life — from the first cells to the sixth mass extinction, in which we are the cause.

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Life emerged ~3.8 billion years ago. Dinosaurs dominated for 165 million years. Hominids have existed for 6 million. The current rate of species extinction is estimated at 1,000 times the natural background rate — and accelerating.
Cretaceous Period — 145 to 66 MYA
145 MYA
First Flowering PlantsAncestors of modern flora
Angiosperms appear, fundamentally reshaping Earth's ecosystems and eventually providing food sources for many modern species — including the bamboo that giant pandas depend on.
Origin
100 MYA
Mammal Diversity BeginsEarly mammalian lineages
Mammals diversify after 150 million years of living in dinosaurs' shadows. Primates will eventually evolve from small, insect-eating creatures in tropical forests.
Origin
66 MYA
K-Pg Extinction EventEnd of the dinosaurs
An asteroid strikes the Yucatan Peninsula. 75% of all species go extinct — including all non-avian dinosaurs. Mammals inherit the Earth. This is the 5th mass extinction.
Mass Extinction
Paleogene Period — 66 to 23 MYA
55 MYA
First PrimatesPlesiadapis — our distant ancestor
Plesiadapis appears in North America and Europe — one of the first true primates. From this lineage, millions of years later, humans will emerge.
Origin
45 MYA
Grasslands Spread Across EarthNew ecological niches
C4 grasses spread rapidly, reshaping African landscapes. Savannas replace forests in many regions, driving the evolution of grassland-adapted species.
Ecological Shift
30 MYA
First Rhinos EvolveIndricotheres — largest land mammals ever
Hornless rhinos like Indricotherium roam Asia, standing 5 meters tall. Modern rhinos with horns evolve later, ~20 MYA. All five rhino species are now endangered.
Origin
Neogene Period — 23 to 2.6 MYA
15 MYA
Great Apes DivergenceHominidae family emerges
Apes diverge from Old World monkeys. The lineages that will become orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans split over the following millions of years.
Origin
7 MYA
Human Lineage Splits from ChimpsSahelanthropus tchadensis
The last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees walks the Earth in central Africa. Within 6 million years, one lineage will reshape the entire planet — mostly for the worse.
Human Emergence
4.4 MYA
Ardipithecus — Early Hominid"Ardi" — the first well-preserved hominid skeleton
Ardipithecus ramidus walks upright in Ethiopian forests. Not yet human, not quite ape. A transitional form that rewrote our understanding of human evolution.
Human Emergence
3.2 MYA
Australopithecus Afarensis"Lucy" discovered in 1974
One of the most famous fossil specimens, Lucy walked the Ethiopian highlands 3.2 million years ago. A pivotal species in human ancestry.
Human Emergence
Quaternary Period — 2.6 MYA to Present
2.5 MYA
Pleistocene Megafauna PeaksMammoths, sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths
The age of giant mammals. Woolly mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, and sabertooth cats roam the ice age Earth. Many will go extinct when humans arrive.
Megafauna Peak
300,000 YA
Homo Sapiens Emerges in AfricaModern humans appear
Anatomically modern humans arise in Africa. Within 300,000 years, we will spread to every continent and drive the largest species extinction since the asteroid.
Human Emergence
70,000 YA
Humans Spread Out of AfricaThe Great Migration begins
A small band of Homo sapiens leaves Africa and begins the march that will colonize every continent. With us, we bring weapons, fire, and eventually, agriculture.
Human Migration
50,000 YA
First Humans Reach AustraliaMass extinction of megafauna begins
Within a few thousand years of human arrival, 85% of Australia's megafauna vanishes — including giant kangaroos, wombat-like diprotodons, and the 3-meter tall Genyornis.
Megafauna Extinction
16,000 YA
Humans Enter the AmericasCrossing the Bering Land Bridge
Following megafauna across Beringia into the Americas. Within 2,000 years, North America's large mammal species — mastodons, sabertooth cats, giant beavers — are largely gone.
Megafauna Extinction
12,000 YA
The Holocene Extinction AcceleratesEnd of the last ice age
As the ice age ends and human populations surge with agriculture, the sixth mass extinction begins in earnest. This is not a natural event — it has a primary cause: us.
Sixth Extinction Begins
10,000 YA
Agriculture Changes EverythingNeolithic Revolution
Humans settle, farm, and build cities. Wild land is converted to cropland. The era of hunting and gathering — and the ecological balance it maintained — ends forever.
Human Civilization
6,000 YA
Mountain Gorilla Lineage EmergesGorilla beringei
Pangolin Lineage Oldest MammalManis — 30+ million years of evolution
Two lineages that will face our century's greatest threats: the mountain gorilla, one of our closest living relatives, and the pangolin, the world's most trafficked mammal.
Origin
4,000 YA
First Rhinos Described by ScienceAncient records of rhinos in China & Egypt
Ancient texts from China and Egypt mention rhinos — Javan rhinos in Chinese records, and depictions in Egyptian art. By this time, rhinos already ranged across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
First Records
2,000 YA
Black Rhino Population: MillionsDiceros bicornis
Black rhinos range across sub-Saharan Africa, with populations numbering in the millions. Just 2,000 years later, fewer than 6,000 will remain. The fastest decline of any rhino species.
Population Peak
1,000 YA
Giant Panda Lineage SplitsAiluropoda melanoleuca
Giant pandas have been a distinct lineage for ~3 million years, but by 1,000 years ago they were already revered in Chinese culture — and their habitat was shrinking from human expansion.
Origin
Anthropocene — The Human Era — 1760 to Present
1769
Industrial Revolution BeginsFossil fuels drive unprecedented change
James Watt's steam engine efficiency improvements mark the start of the Industrial Revolution. Carbon locked in Earth's crust for millions of years begins its return to the atmosphere.
Human Era
1820
World Population Reaches 1 BillionFirst time in human history
After hundreds of thousands of years, human population hits 1 billion. It took 123 years to reach 2 billion, 33 years to reach 3 billion, 14 years to 4 billion. The planet's ecosystems never recovered.
Population Milestone
1869
Vaquita First Described by SciencePhocoena sinus
The world's smallest cetacean is formally described by scientists. Within 150 years, it will be the most endangered marine mammal on Earth — and possibly the first to go extinct due to bycatch.
Species Discovery
1900s
Sumatran Rhino Numbers CollapseDicerorhinus sumatrensis
By the early 20th century, Sumatran rhinos have been hunted for their horns across their entire range. From possibly hundreds of thousands to fewer than 80 by 1980.
Decline Begins
1963
Dian Fossey Begins Mountain Gorilla ResearchKarisoke Research Centre, Rwanda
Fossey establishes her research camp in the Virunga Volcanoes. She will dedicate her life to protecting mountain gorillas — and be murdered for it in 1985. Her work is credited with saving the species.
Conservation Begins
1973
Endangered Species Act Passed (USA)Landmark conservation legislation
The United States passes the ESA — one of the world's strongest pieces of species protection legislation. It will save 99% of listed species from extinction, but funding will always lag behind need.
Policy Milestone
1980
Global Wildlife Trade: $6 Billion/YearThe industry that kills
By 1980, the legal and illegal wildlife trade is worth $6 billion annually. By 2022, that figure exceeds $23 billion. Pangolins become the world's most trafficked mammal.
Trade Escalates
1994
Black Rhino Population Hits Lowest Point~2,300 individuals remain
Decades of poaching reduce black rhino populations to their lowest in modern history. Poaching rates exceed reproduction. Without intervention, extinction is certain within decades.
Critical Threshold
2000
World Population: 6 BillionDoubling time: 39 years
The human population has sextupled in 100 years. Wild habitat is converted to farmland, cities, and infrastructure at a rate that leaves no room for large mammals.
Population Milestone
2011
Rhino Poaching Crisis Peaks in South AfricaRecord: 448 rhinos killed in one year
Rhino poaching reaches crisis levels driven by demand from Vietnam and China. South Africa alone loses 448 rhinos in 2013. A rhino is killed every 7 hours.
Poaching Crisis
2016
Giant Panda Downlisted: Endangered → VulnerableA rare conservation success
After decades of massive conservation investment from China, giant panda populations increase by 17% over the previous decade. The first success story in a sea of losses.
Recovery Milestone
2018
Vaquita: Fewer Than 19 RemainThe world's most endangered marine mammal
Population surveys confirm fewer than 19 vaquitas remain in the Gulf of California. The illegal gillnets set for totoaba — driven by Chinese demand for swim bladders — are driving the porpoise to extinction.
Critical Crisis
2020
COVID-19: Wildlife Markets Under ScrutinyZoonotic disease link
The COVID-19 pandemic, likely originating from a wildlife market in Wuhan, triggers global calls to shut down live wildlife markets. Some countries act; most do not.
Global Crisis
2022
Global Wildlife Trade: $23+ BillionThe largest illegal trade after drugs, arms, and humans
The combined legal and illegal wildlife trade exceeds $23 billion annually. Pangolins, rhinos, elephants, and tigers continue to be depleted to supply global demand.
Trade Scale
2024
Amazon Deforestation AcceleratesTipping point approaches
2024 sees the highest Amazon deforestation rates since 2008. Scientists warn that 17-25% of the Amazon has already been degraded, and a 20-25% loss could trigger a self-destruction tipping point.
Environmental Crisis
2025
42 Species in Critical PerilOur focus at creaturesincrisis.org
Today, 42 species sit on the edge of existence. Some may number fewer than 100 individuals. Without immediate, dramatic intervention, the next decade will see multiple extinctions.
Today
You Are Here
NOW
The window for saving the 42 species is closing.
The decisions made in the next 10 years will determine their fate.
42
Species Remaining on the Brink

The Sixth Mass Extinction

Earth has experienced five mass extinctions. The last one — the K-Pg event 66 million years ago — killed the dinosaurs. We are now in the sixth, caused entirely by human activity: habitat destruction, climate change, overhunting, and the wildlife trade. Species are disappearing at 1,000 times the natural rate. Unlike the previous five, we know it's happening — and we can stop it.

"The question is not whether we can save species, but whether we have the will to do so."