In 2023, U.S. scientists declared 22 species of animal officially extinct. The list of species includes birds, mussels, fish, and a mammal.

Habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and invasive species – all directly attributed to human overpopulation and exploitation – are considered to be the primary causes of animal extinction. According to the United Nations, today’s rate of extinction is up to hundreds of times higher than extinctions that occurred at any time in the past 10 million years.

The 22 US species declared extinct in 2023 include 10 birds, 3 fish, 1 mammal, and 8 types of mussel.

One of the birds declared extinct in 2023 was the Bachman’s Warbler, formerly a native of Florida and South Carolina (main image).

Speaking of both the Bachman’s Warbler and related warbler species, Sea McKeon, a biologist and director of the Marine Program at the American Bird Conservancy said: “These are some of the most famous songbirds in the world and we lost [them] due to lack of protection of their habitats.”

More than 1,480 species remain on the US Fish & Wildlife Service endangered list.

According to a 2019 United Nations report, a further one million species are at risk of extinction in the next few decades.