---
title: "Climate Change Just Wiped out Its First Mammal"
description: "First noticed in 2016, the Australian government recently confirmed the first mammalian extinction that was caused by human-induced climate change."
date: "2019-03-22"
modified: "2019-03-22"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-change-wiped-out-first-mammal"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "climate change"
  - "ecology"
  - "environment"
  - "extinction"
  - "the digest"
---

# Climate Change Just Wiped out Its First Mammal

![First noticed in 2016, the Australian government recently confirmed the first mammalian extinction that was caused by human-induced climate change.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/climate-change-wiped-out-first-mammal.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Rebecca Diete/Luke Leung/University of Queensland\</em\>*

## Rest in Peace

For the first time, a mammal has been driven extinct by human-caused climate change.

The Australian government has declared a small rodent called the Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat as extinct. The rising sea level coupled with worsening storms wiped out almost all of its food supply on the small island it inhabited, [according to *Scientific American*](<https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/climate-change-claims-its-first-mammal-extinction/>) — a grim reminder of bleak effects of humans on the global environment.

## Under The Rug

This year, Australia's Department of the Environment and Energy [put out a press release](<https://www.environment.gov.au/minister/price/media-releases/mr20190218a.html>) describing a call to increase its efforts to protect the country's endangered and threatened inhabitants.

The press release recommended moving the Bramble Cay rat, which *Scientific American* reports hasn't been spotted since 2009, from being endangered to officially extinct.

## No Doubt

The Australian government didn't pull punches — [human-induced climate change](<https://futurism.com/climate-change-caused-humans.md>) was listed as the primary cause of death for the small rodents.

While the loss of a rodent that only lived on one small island may not be a death toll for the entire world, it's a stark reminder of the irreversible impact human civilization is making on the planet.

**READ MORE:** [Climate Change Claims Its First Mammal Extinction](<https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/climate-change-claims-its-first-mammal-extinction/>) \[*Scientific American*\]

**More on climate change:** *[Climate Change Is Eliminating Clouds. Without Them, Earth Burns](<https://futurism.com/greenhouse-gas-clouds.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

## More

- [The Australian Rat Just Became The First Mammal To Go Extinct Because of Climate Change](<https://futurism.com/the-australian-rat-just-became-the-first-mammal-to-go-extinct-because-of-climate-change.md>)
- [Climate Change Could Wipe Out One-Third of Parasite Species by 2070](<https://futurism.com/climate-change-could-wipe-out-one-third-of-parasite-species-by-2070.md>)
- [Climate Change Causes Immense Canadian River to Dry Up In Just Four Days](<https://futurism.com/4-story-immense-canadian-river-vanishes-in-a-matter-of-days.md>)
- [Climate Change Is Eliminating Clouds. Without Them, Earth Burns](<https://futurism.com/greenhouse-gas-clouds.md>)
- [Climate Change Threatens 60 Percent of the World’s Fish Species](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-change-threatens-60-percent-fish-species.md>)
- [Climate Change Poised to Eradicate Over 7,000 More Species](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-change-eradicate-7000-more-species.md>)
- [Leaked UN Climate Report: The Apocalypse Is Almost Here](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-report-apocalypse.md>)
- [Climate Change: New Research Verifies That Local Extinctions Are Already Occurring](<https://futurism.com/climate-change-new-research-verifies-that-local-extinctions-are-already-occurring.md>)