Facing Extinction

The rate of extinction has increased by a hundredfold over the last 100 years. Much of the world’s wildlife is now under threat. It is estimated that one-third of animal and plant species could be gone in the next 50 years. Photographing these animals in the wild is a humbling experience, especially since humans are responsible for the many challenges they face.

Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace our ocean waters, from the shallow seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, to the colorful reefs of the Coral Triangle and the sandy beaches of the Eastern Pacific. Nearly all species of sea turtle are now classified as endangered, with three of the seven existing species being critically endangered.

ABOVE: Gracefully an Oceanic Manta Ray takes a look at the camera. Their curious and social behaviour is a sign of their superior intelligence.

Every family has an overachiever. For fish, that title goes to manta rays. They’re giant, social, charismatic and intelligent. Graceful and elegant in it’s movement, the Manta Ray is considered the “Angel of the ocean”.

ABOVE: A critically endangered Black Crested Macaque

Crested Black Macaques are endemic to the tropical island of Sulawesi in the north of Indonesia. They live in groups of around 80 individuals and have a complex social structure which, according to scientists, illuminates human behavior.

ABOVE: It’s still dark in the forest as he stares in the camera.

ABOVE: A Blacktip Reef Shark patrols the reef peacefully. 

Sharks are magnificent creatures. As apex predators, they play an important role in the marine ecosystem. They maintain a balance in populations by removing the weak and the sick, ensuring species diversity, thereby creating a healthy environment. But due to the animal’s menacing depiction in movies and on the news, most humans overlook their complex nature. Sharks kill fewer than 4 humans on average each year, while humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually. You’re more likely to be killed by a lightning strike, bee sting, falling coconut or falling vending machine than a shark bite.

Humans’ fear of sharks is a poor excuse for the brutality that we inflict upon them. The challenge of conservation, already daunting, is exacerbated by humans’ strong, negative perceptions of an animal species that needs our protection—not our predation.

One million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history. The sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction is a result of human activity.

ABOVE: Pufferfish and can be seen among other tropical fish in a overcrowded aquarium at Tsukiji, the world’s biggest fish market. The star of a Japanese dish called fugu is a puffer fish that produces toxins so deadly that it can kill if prepared improperly. Yet the delicacy is so popular that overfishing may be pushing one species of puffer to the brink of extinction. To me this photo symbolises humans deadly appetite, leading to overfishing and ultimately the destruction of our oceans.

Today, we have reached a critical tipping point – challenges such as overfishing, pollution, melting polar ice, and acidification, to name just a few, are pushing our marine ecosystems to the brink of collapse. Yet, our story is one of hope, and as the great anthropologist Margaret Mead once said:

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