US says ivory-billed woodpecker, 22 other species extinct

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Death’s come knocking a last time for the splendid ivory-billed woodpecker and almost two dozen other birds, fish and other species: The U.S. government is declaring them extinct. It’s a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal. But scientists say climate change threatens to make extinctions more common as it adds to the pressures facing imperiled species. The factors behind this latest and largest batch of extinctions vary — urbanization, water pollution, logging. In each case, humans were the ultimate cause.