You may know of Sir
David Attenborough, 94 years old, for his 60-year long experience in Wildlife
documentary-making. So, when he speaks regarding wildlife and the future of
this planet, listen keenly, because he actually knows what he’s talking about.

Last Sunday, the legend
himself warned us about the future in his new BBC documentary, Extinction: The
Facts. He began his hour-long documentary alerting the viewers:

He stated that he has encountered and witnessed some remarkable animal species in his life and how lucky he feels about it. Some of these wonders usually disappear quickly. Currently, we are in a crisis that is consequential. It affects our ability to actually feed ourselves and control the climate and put us at a higher risk of life-threatening diseases like COVID-19.

He utilized a couple of
experts to explain how extinction has augmented only in his lifetime. He
further explained that ever since the 1500, more than 570 plant species and 700
animal species have disappeared. Hence, extinction is now a hundred times faster
than the normal evolutionary rate.

Last year, Sir
Attenborough had produced another explainer called Climate Change: The Facts.
It preceded that facts discussed in his latest venture. In Extinction: The
Facts, he explains the disastrous impact of this fast-paced extinction along
with the causes of extinction like Fishing practices, poaching, and
unsustainable agricultural.

He then goes on to
discuss the long list of animals around the world that may go extinct sooner
than we expect like the northern white rhinos in Kenya.

He also reminisced
about one of the greatest experiences of his life – when he met a few
mischievous mountain gorillas. The youngest one was called Poppy.

“As
I was preparing to talk to camera, Poppy was at my feet, trying to take off my
shoes. It was an experience that has stayed with me, but it was tinged with
sadness, as I thought that I may be seeing some of the last of their
kind.”

The documentary is not
for the faint hearted, but it does send a hopeful message at the end.

He concluded it with
this statement:“One thing we do
know, is that if nature is given the chance, it can bounce back.”

If there’s one takeaway
from this incredibly enlightening documentary, it’s this:
We, as humans, have a responsibility towards our environment. We better start
respecting it as we respect other fellow human beings, or it will hunt us down,
and that would be the end of the world as we know it.