Humans are currently losing the battle in the war against animal extinction. New species are going extinct every day, and it’s unlikely that things will get better any time soon. If humans were to suddenly disappear tomorrow, what would happen to all of these animals? Would they continue to decline, or would some stand a chance of thriving again with us gone? Thankfully, none of us are going to go anywhere anytime soon…at least not based on the latest scientific evidence. That doesn’t mean that we can’t imagine what the world might be like if humans went extinct tomorrow. If humans went extinct what animal would dominate next?
Giant Leaf-Eating Snails
It’s hard to imagine why humans would suddenly go extinct, but an alien invasion would be one way to do it. Giant leaf-eating snails, though, would be a more likely scenario. These invasive mollusks are currently eating their way through the Caribbean.
They’ve been found in Puerto Rico and several other islands, and scientists predict that they could destroy the region’s agriculture. Humans have been trying to stop them from getting any further, but it seems inevitable that they’ll spread to other places. If they do, they could easily wreak havoc on other regions too.
The only thing that could stop them would be the mass extinction of humans. Giant leaf-eating snails are a pretty scary threat, but they could be one of the few animals that could thrive if humans went extinct.
Killer Chimps
The decline of the chimpanzee population has been well-documented. But what if humans were suddenly gone? What would happen to the remaining chimps? It’s possible that they would just decline further, but the sudden loss of humans could also allow them to thrive.
Humans have been hunting chimps for various reasons for years. In certain parts of the world, they’re hunted for bush meat. In other places, they’re killed for their blood, bones, and even skins. If humans suddenly disappeared, there would be a sudden end to all of this hunting.
It’s possible that chimps could even recover their numbers to a certain extent. This may not be good news for other species, though. The more chimps there are, the more they could come into conflict with other animals.
Endless Rotting Cows
Farmers are currently having to contend with diseases like mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease. The risk of these diseases spreading to humans is very low, but farmers are still often put in a difficult position. If humans suddenly disappeared, though, diseases like this could run rampant.
The animals that are currently being killed to prevent such diseases from spreading would instead be left to rot. Diseases like this could kill off many species of animals, but some rodents could thrive in such an environment.
Rats and mice could see their populations expand as they feed on all of this rotting meat. Rodents like these are a real threat to human civilization, but their populations could explode if humans were suddenly gone.
Orangutans
Orangutans are currently being pushed toward extinction by deforestation, hunting, and other factors. Without humans around, orangutans might struggle to recover from this decline. Humans have been trying to help them for years, but we may need to do more.
If humans suddenly disappeared, there would be less incentive to protect orangutan habitat. Other species could also expand into orangutan territory, and they may not be so keen to leave the orangutans alone. Given enough time, orangutans might be able to bounce back, but they’d need more help.
Humans could also choose to help them, but there’s no guarantee that they would. It’s possible that if humans suddenly disappeared, orangutans could thrive.
Summing Up
The animals that could thrive if humans went extinct are often the same ones that are currently being threatened the most by humans. There are good reasons for this, though. Animals that rely on us for food or habitat would probably become extinct without us.
Animals that eat us would thrive without us around. It’s hard to say what exactly would happen if humans suddenly disappeared, though. One thing we can be sure of is that animals as a whole would be better off without us.
That doesn’t mean that some individual species wouldn’t do better without us around. Giant leaf-eating snails, killer chimps, endless rotting cows, and orangutans could be just some of the animals that could thrive if humans suddenly went extinct. So, how about you? In your opinion, If humans went extinct what animal would dominate next?
