CORVALLIS, Ore. — An Oregon State University scientist says climate change is leading to an “existential crisis” for Earth’s animals.
Professor William Ripple and a team of researchers analyzed data sets that show climate change is threatening 3,500 species, including blue whales and a half-dozen seal species. They also consider pandas, cheetahs, monkeys, zebras, prairie dogs, elephants and thousands of other animals as threatened.
Researchers say mass mortality events, including a die-off of billions of intertidal invertebrates during 2021’s heat dome in the Pacific Northwest, show how vulnerable wild animals can be to the changing climate and how important it is to study those effects…