While animal extinction is a natural phenomenon, I strongly disagree with the idea that humans should simply allow it to happen without intervention. Not only is modern extinction fundamentally different from natural extinction, but the ideology behind such indifference can also encourage dangerous attitudes toward human society itself.
Firstly, many people mistakenly believe that extinction is always beneficial because weaker species disappear and stronger ones evolve to replace them. However, this argument ignores the fact that most modern extinctions are not natural but caused directly by human activity. Deforestation, pollution, industrial hunting, and climate change have destroyed ecosystems at a pace far beyond normal evolutionary processes. As a result, extinction today often damages ecological balance rather than improving it. For instance, the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger removed an important predator from its environment, while the disappearance of the great auk, sometimes referred to as the “original penguin,” was caused largely by overhunting. These losses did not create stronger ecosystems; instead, they reduced biodiversity and destabilized nature.
Secondly, this viewpoint may carry a more sinister implication when applied beyond animals. The belief that the weak should naturally disappear can easily evolve into Social Darwinism, which attempts to justify inequality and suffering among humans. Historically, such thinking influenced the eugenics movements of the 1920s, during which governments and intellectuals argued that certain groups of people were biologically inferior and should not reproduce. In extreme cases, these ideas contributed to forced sterilization and racial discrimination. Therefore, normalizing the idea that extinction or elimination is simply “natural” can become morally dangerous when transferred from wildlife to human society.
In conclusion, although extinction has always existed in nature, modern human-caused extinction is both environmentally destructive and ethically troubling. Moreover, the ideology used to justify indifference toward endangered species may also encourage harmful social beliefs about human worth. For these reasons, humans should actively protect endangered animals rather than ignore their disappearance.