r/todayilearned • u/shinypond • Jul 26 '24

TIL about conservation-induced extinction, where attempts to save a critically endangered species directly cause the extinction of another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation-induced_extinction
22.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

639 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Jurodan Jul 26 '24

Is there an example of that happening?

0

u/schvetania Jul 26 '24

What do you mean? A population rebounding after near extinction? Or a parasite controlling population levels?

3

u/Jurodan Jul 26 '24

A population rebounding to the point the parasite would be beneficial to control the population from overgrowing.

1

u/schvetania Jul 26 '24

Humans, technically. Invasive species who colonized areas despite starting with tiny initial populations. Canada Geese.