--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The anthropologist Richard Leakey has…" description: "\"“The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg" --- # The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo… ![“The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its victims.” A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION…” quote by Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg) > ““The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its victims.” A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS BUSY SAWING OFF THE LIMB ON WHICH IT PERCHES.”” [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity threatens both other species and humanity, creating a feedback loop of extinction risk. **In simple terms:** Human actions endanger all life. Key Takeaway Recognize and curb harmful environmental impacts. Themes environment extinction human responsibility Mood urgent concerned Type cautionary inspirational When to use this quote - policy advocacy - sustainable consumption - education - conservation projects - community activism Key Concepts ecology anthropocene interdependence Questions to Reflect On - How does your lifestyle affect biodiversity? - What steps can societies take to break the extinction cycle? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex ecological dynamics and ignore positive human interventions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Extinction Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction-humanity-2013197/) [Extinction Risks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction-risks-4840036/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Sixth Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixth-extinction-2288752/) [Species extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-extinction/) [St Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/st-paul/) ## Related quotes > [“A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/a-sign-in-the-hall-of-biodiversity-offers-a-quote-from-the-stanford/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Few problems are less recognized, but more important than, the accelerating disappearance of the earth’s biological resources. In pushing other species to extinction, humanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-p-marra/few-problems-are-less-recognized-but-more-important-than-the/) [Peter P. Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-p-marra/) > [In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it perches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-pushing-other-species-to-extinction-humanity-is-busy-sawing-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the center of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Biodiversity, there’s an exhibit embedded in the floor. The exhibit is arranged around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-center-of-the-american-museum-of-natural-history-s-hall-of/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Even very smart people can try to shoehorn new information that just doesn't fit into an existing paradigm.For a long time the story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/even-very-smart-people-can-try-to-shoehorn-new-information-that-just/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [We've made some heroic efforts, but the Earth as a whole is in worse shape today than 30 years ago, ... There's been 30…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/we-ve-made-some-heroic-efforts-but-the-earth-as-a-whole-is-in-worse/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [“Politicians are in the process of committing species extinction in honor of their corporate sponsors and the general public are along for the sickening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/politicians-are-in-the-process-of-committing-species-extinction-in/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If we drive our fellow species to extinction, we will leave a far more desolate planet for our descendants than the world we inherited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/if-we-drive-our-fellow-species-to-extinction-we-will-leave-a-far-more/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [ We're handing them \[young people & future generations\] a climate system which is potentially out of their control. We're in an emergency: you can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/we-re-handing-them-young-people-future-generations-a-climate-system/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [ In the beginning, there were bacteria… \[A\] nearly universal assumption is that all subsequent life descended from the original life form through a continuous… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/in-the-beginning-there-were-bacteria-a-nearly-universal-assumption-is/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Overpopulation in the United States will become THE single greatest issue facing Americans in the 21st century. We either solve it proactively or nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/overpopulation-in-the-united-states-will-become-the-single-greatest/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [Many scientists would argue that we are now in what is called Extinction, and it's caused by this perfect extinction storm: climate change, habitat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/many-scientists-would-argue-that-we-are-now-in-what-is-called/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [Our biggest challenges for the ocean and for the planet are problems of perception. People need to understand that species extinctions, habitat destruction, ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-widder/our-biggest-challenges-for-the-ocean-and-for-the-planet-are-problems/) [Edith Widder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-widder/) > [“Would you kill half the population today in order to save our species from extinction?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/would-you-kill-half-the-population-today-in-order-to-save-our-species/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [If we somehow put a value on species extinction and factor that into our costs that bottom line would look very different. IF we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-anderson/if-we-somehow-put-a-value-on-species-extinction-and-factor-that-into/) [Ray Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-anderson/) ## More by Elizabeth Kolbert > [“The size of the greenhouse forcing is estimated, at this point, to be 2.5 w/m2. A miniature Christmas light gives off about four tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-size-of-the-greenhouse-forcing-is-estimated-at-this-point-to-be-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Well in the scientific there is virtually no debate over certain things. For example, that we are changing the world. Humans are changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/well-in-the-scientific-there-is-virtually-no-debate-over-certain/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Humans will eventually become extinct. People treat that as a radical thing to say. But the fossil record shows us that everything eventually becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/humans-will-eventually-become-extinct-people-treat-that-as-a-radical/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/a-sign-in-the-hall-of-biodiversity-offers-a-quote-from-the-stanford/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [We have all this Paleolithic art that suggests that our ancestors really venerated animals and that they depended on wild animals to survive -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/we-have-all-this-paleolithic-art-that-suggests-that-our-ancestors/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Crutzen wrote up his idea in a short essay, “Geology of Mankind,” that ran in Nature. “It seems appropriate to assign the term ‘Anthropocene’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/crutzen-wrote-up-his-idea-in-a-short-essay-geology-of-mankind-that/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Modern humans arrived in Europe around forty thousand years ago, and again and again, the archaeological record shows, as soon as they made their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/modern-humans-arrived-in-europe-around-forty-thousand-years-ago-and/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [It seems that the Neanderthal DNA that modern Europeans and Asians (and also Native Americans and basically all non-African people) are carrying around is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/it-seems-that-the-neanderthal-dna-that-modern-europeans-and-asians/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [What are the Chinese doing, what are we doing, what are - so we need, both the developed world and the developing world, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/what-are-the-chinese-doing-what-are-we-doing-what-are-so-we-need-both/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response? Or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-the-effects-of-global-warming-become-more-and-more-difficult-to/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-is-now-warmer-than-it-has-been/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [I traveled really to amazing places. I went to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the Amazon, I went to the Andes, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/i-traveled-really-to-amazing-places-i-went-to-the-great-barrier-reef/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“At the Biesbosch nature center, I met up with a water-ministry official named Eelke Turkstra. Turkstra runs a program called Ruimte voor de Rivier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/at-the-biesbosch-nature-center-i-met-up-with-a-water-ministry/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Darwin’s familiarity with human-caused extinction is also clear from On the Origin of Species. In one of the many passages in which he heaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/darwin-s-familiarity-with-human-caused-extinction-is-also-clear-from/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) [Explore all 90 Elizabeth Kolbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## More Extinction quotes > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [For the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/for-the-complete-extinction-of-the-state-complete-communism-is/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [Plague has hung over human history. The biggest human extinction was after 1492 in North and South America when the mortality rate was 95…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/plague-has-hung-over-human-history-the-biggest-human-extinction-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Its haunting to realize that half of the languages of the world are teetering on the brink of extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/its-haunting-to-realize-that-half-of-the-languages-of-the-world-are/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Human extinction in our children's lifetime, it should be your top news item every single day, what's happening, you should be holding politicians to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/human-extinction-in-our-children-s-lifetime-it-should-be-your-top/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [“To return to nature is to embrace extinction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-x/to-return-to-nature-is-to-embrace-extinction/) [Mark X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-x/) > [We need to take a leaf out of natures book. Any species that clones itself will eventually be attacked by a parasite, leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/we-need-to-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-any-species-that-clones/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [We find ourselves heading fully into an era of mass extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/severn-cullis-suzuki/we-find-ourselves-heading-fully-into-an-era-of-mass-extinction/) [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/severn-cullis-suzuki/) [Browse all 581 Extinction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its victims.” A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS BUSY SAWING OFF THE LIMB ON WHICH IT PERCHES.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Kolbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-warned-that-homo-sapiens-might/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extinction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-warned-that-homo-sapiens-might/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_extinction_the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-wa_3012868.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned that “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth…” — Elizabeth Kolbert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Kolbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The anthropologist Richard Leakey has warned...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-warned-that-homo-sapiens-might/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-anthropologist-richard-leakey-has-warned-that-homo-sapiens-might/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```