In 1975 Paul and Anne Ehrlich predicted that around half of all species on the planet would have become extinct by now. Since the world is estimated to be home to something like five to fifteen million species, several million would have gone extinct since then. But the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists no more than 709 species as having become extinct since 1500.14 Most of these extinctions have taken place in isolated areas, such as oceanic islands, which suggests that many life forms are flexible and can migrate and survive in modified environments.
