What species fights itself to extinction?

I would like to know what species on earth tries to kill its own species to the extent that human beings do.

We are all asking why are these terrible things happening.

Maybe because nations are at war, we ignore starving people, the list goes on and on.

What we are doing is killing ourselves.

We are also the only species on the planet with the intelligence to do so. We're at an awkward point in our evolution: we're smart enough to know that what we're doing is wrong, yet we're still controlled by our primal instincts. I think if we make it a few thousand more years, we may evolve out of the desire to kill ourselves.

reply to post by LiquidLight


We don't have that time, I think.

We have been given a beautiful world and we have abused it.

Squirells! They are little bastards for killing each other especially the grey ones! The red ones are nearly extinct

Originally posted by Poet Of Deception
Squirells! They are little bastards for killing each other especially the grey ones! The red ones are nearly extinct

Too right, squirels are a pest to each other, maybe in similar ways to humans are to each other.

Almost all animals and insects, and microbes, ect. Fight each other constantly. Come to think of it I can’t think of many animal species that don’t kill each other for food, land, sex, dominance, and resources. Its just survival of the fittest. Unfortunately we humans are intellectually superior and have evolved from hand to hand combat, to sticks and rocks, to guns and bombs, to weapons of mass destruction on an unimaginable scale. I believe it’s just the natural progression of things and won’t end until all humans are dead. Humans have fought from the beginning of time and will continue to do so until the end of time.

if lions or wolves found out how to control large sections of land and resources via weapons I can guarantee you they would use those weapons to kill as many others of their own kind not in the pack to secure prosperity. (funny image) its the way of the world the strong survive and the weak die, sad but true

Well, threre you go - everyone hates everyone.

Oh, ok, now I understand.

So, basically, people hate people, and it is just a fight to survive, with our rulers determining who will survive?

[Mod edit to reduce empty space]











[edit on 5/2/2009 by yeahright]

for the most part yes (in my opinion). much like the alpha dog in a wolf pack or a lioness would dictate who and what to attack, and those being attacked fight back. im not saying everyone hates every one because thats not true...but the basis of my argument is true

and where did i say everyone hates everyone? all i said was its about power and survival like most other preditory or intelligent animals

[edit on 2-5-2009 by invisibleman11]

also we havent even come close to killing eachother to the point of extinction. last time i checked there were well over 6,000,000,000 people on earth...the most ever in history, we have countinuly grown exponentialy over time, in fact earth has often been called "over populated" by human beings. so how are we killing eachother into extinction?

reply to post by spellbound

We have been given a beautiful world and we have abused it.

How so? We haven't abused nature, we have merely acted in accordance to our nature - which nature itself has molded. I should remind you also that beauty is subjective. Our "NATURAL" world isn't all that beautiful IMO. Then again, our natural world is barren wastes choked by a carbon-rich atmosphere. It wasn't until life came about that it started changing and using this world for it's own purpose - it's own survival. Our atmosphere was converted, our soil was altered, our environment drastically modified. Did you know that there was a mass extinction when photosynthesis came on the scene, because it expels oxygen as a waste and it was highly toxic to life on Earth at the time. Even after life adapted to incorporate oxygen, it's concentrations were so high that everything a lightning bolt struck - it would ignite huge pockets of the gas and essentially level whatever was in it's path - just like a bomb blast. And of course, there were a lot more lightning strikes back then too as the world was rotating faster back then causing more atmospheric upheaval.

If you consider our environment and our planet beautiful (as I do), then know that it's only beautiful because it's actively and selfishly modified by the life that exists on this planet to ensure it's own survival. We have the intelligence to bring about the kind of change in our behavior and policy to help shape our environment, but I really can't fault humanity for simply doing what life does best.

As for other animal species making war... I think you should take a few biology classes. Competition is fierce in nature - and species tend not to work as a cohesive whole, but broken into smaller family groups, pack, troupes, herds, etc. These smaller groups compete with one another, sometimes violently over resources and territory... and even within the group itself members quarrel over mating rights or dominance. Is it any wonder why humanity also seeks to divide itself into separate groups - tribes, nations, races, sexes, religions, ideologies, sports teams, and even video-game consoles. We are still called instinctively to our tribal behaviors, including competition. We can recognize this as a part of who we are, or we can continually delude ourselves into thinking it's some esoteric energy flow, Chi Chi Chakra, Demon possessed, astrological vibrational, 4th dimensional spirit disturbance - and all the BS baggage that comes with such claims.

Hmm, I am not sure if any other animals are capable of fighting themselves into extinction although I have seen documentaries on TV about chimps and I remember that it showed one group of Chimps sneaking to the location of another group of chimps and attacking them with the intention of killing them and taking their land.

Sort of war like huh?

I have not heard of any other animals that "go to war with their own kind though. Just apes and ape like creatures.... Bizzare.

What is supposed to be the most intelligent species on earth is one of the only species who just may fight itself into exinction. I do wonder sometimes if we over estimate our own intelligence.

I think we humans reside on a planet which is an island of potential reason and logic, amidst an abyss of chaos. Our children's children may be proud to have had angry aggressive forefathers once they meet a more intelligent pathogen out there. Or a simply evil yet advanced race.

reply to post by spellbound


you aren't thinking about this though. Just because we westerners are more violent and warring, doesn't mean that all humans are. Most humans of history, especially pre-history would have been fairly peaceful and benign.

Although, with that said, many of our great ape cousins are also very violent and destructive.

Extinction?

Hold on a second. Would an animal that doubles it population every 40-50 years be a candidate for extinction?

No?

Then why would the same be said for humans? From 1960 to 2000 humans have grown from 3 billion to 6 billion. From 2000 to the present we have almost picked up 1 billion more.

Hardly extinction taking place.

Well...humans are far from being extinct!
Unless some massive bomb takes care of that!

There has probably been more Female Black Widow Spiders that have killed their mates than people killing people...LOL!

...just think every male Widow that mates with the female is supposed to die...thats alot!

She likes to bite their heads off!

Forgive me for being so true!

I bet more fish eat their own than any other though!

I guess that would'nt be classified as extinction, oh well!



[edit on 5/4/2009 by Givenmay]

ok, don't know if this is approprate, but what the hell.

"Its starts with At&t offering cable,
And the Cable company offering better phone service.
And real Coke Cola is made in Mexico
And Rush Limbaugh is for animal right,
What!, yep thats true...

Its the End of the world as we know it and I Feel Fine."

Well we are the only specie that is aware of killing each other and we care. Sure people die left and right, but there's one unstipuded fact, were still here.

There's a Little song Bird Called the kurtlands Warbler. And it requires about 10 acres per bird plus it will only next on young pine tree, not old ones. Talk about getting your species between a rock and a hard place. Some say this song bird would go extict because of us. I say thats nonsense simply because if the entire Michigan becomes old growth forest, then what is that damn song bird suspose to nest.

despite our wars, pollution and politics, were still here. Those old stories from the past about Atlantis and Lemuria, well they, screwed up and now we'll were here. I'm not worry about the future, because it sounds like were the 3rd test and i believe that well 3 times a charm.

Species go in and out of existence every single day, all sorts, big, small, significant and not.

95+ percent of all life forms that have existed are now extinct and it's not our fault. Think about the great extinction events, upwards of 95% of life on Earth can perish in an extinction event but life can handle it, life is tough, adaptable, resourceful and ever resilient. Civilisations don't tend to last more than 600-800 years a piece. Our time will come and go and the world will forget us as time goes by, unmoved by our lives and our destruction. Like dust in the wind.

... And here is us with our pathetic 60-80 year lifespan and we think we are important. HA! We are naive to be so narcissistic.




[edit on 5-5-2009 by Welfhard]

Originally posted by RRconservative[/i
Then why would the same be said for humans? From 1960 to 2000 humans have grown from 3 billion to 6 billion. From 2000 to the present we have almost picked up 1 billion more.

Hardly extinction taking place.

I'd say nuclear weapons are proving to be very effective deterrence so far...

Glad no one is stupid enough(yet) to press the big red shiny button.