A popularized term for what is officially known as the Holocene extinction, an event beginning between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago and defined as the ongoing loss of animal and plant species during this epoch, with extinction rates on a planetary scale. The main causes were rapid human expansion across the globe, hunting, habitat destruction, and an increase in the frequency of wildfires due to natural warm-dry events.
Source: Lartey, S. (2019) Exploring the Impact of the Holocene Extinction; Wiens, J., Saban, K., (2025) ScienceDirect, Questioning the sixth mass extinction.
