Extinction

nature · animals · science

When species end. Extinction is when every single individual of a species dies, and there are no more left anywhere on Earth. Once a species goes extinct, it is gone forever.

Hard to know when. It is actually very tricky to know exactly when a species has gone extinct, because the last few members might be hiding in remote places that scientists haven't explored yet. Usually scientists figure it out looking backward in time.

Functional extinction. Sometimes a species loses the ability to have babies even if some members are still alive. When this happens, the species cannot recover, so it is functionally extinct, meaning it is basically finished.

Surprise comebacks. Very rarely, a species that scientists thought was extinct turns up again somewhere! Scientists call these 'Lazarus taxa' after someone in ancient stories who came back from the dead. It happens when a few animals survive hidden in nature without anyone knowing.