# All humans vanish. How many other species die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924 "2015-03-25T04:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/41 "2015-03-26T01:15:15Z")
White rhinos are probably done for with or without humankind. California Condors might make it without lead poisoning and power lines, but it is a long shot. In short, critters on the brink now. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/42 "2015-03-26T01:23:22Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > California Condors might make it without lead poisoning and power lines, but it is a long shot. In short, critters on the brink now. It’s doubtful but a maybe. There’s just no niche for them anymore, no large amounts of dead megafauna. Altho, for a while- with all those cattle dying off, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/43 "2015-03-26T01:31:08Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Really? Why would a cockroach in Singapore or Rio die in their first winter? Indeed. Would Singapore or Rio be outside of their tropical range? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/44 "2015-03-26T01:34:37Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Really? Why would a cockroach in Singapore or Rio die in their first winter? Aren’t Singapore and Rio in the tropics? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/45 "2015-03-26T01:37:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Aren’t Singapore and Rio in the tropics? And? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/46 "2015-03-26T01:48:54Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > And? “If humans disappeared and the heat went out, all of the cockroaches outside of their original _tropical_ range would die in their first winter.” ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/47 "2015-03-26T01:59:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “If humans disappeared and the heat went out, all of the cockroaches outside of their original _tropical_ range would die in their first winter.” So they wouldn’t become extinct in any sense. In fact they would exist in greater numbers than they did before humans arrived? How is this in any way any answer to the question being asked? The walruses n the Zoo in Rio would probably die too. Does that mean we need t include them on the list of species that would become extinct? | I am struggling to see what point is being made with the observation that cockroaches will die ion areas where they will die. Can you explain it to me? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/48 "2015-03-26T02:03:14Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > So they wouldn’t become extinct in any sense. In fact they would exist in greater numbers than they did before humans arrived? > > How is this in any way any answer to the question being asked? The walruses n the Zoo in Rio would probably die too. Does that mean we need t include them on the list of species that would become extinct? > | > I am struggling to see what point is being made with the observation that cockroaches will die ion areas where they will die. Can you explain it to me? I think you misunderstand Little Nemo’s post. PM him for a clarification if you must. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924/49 "2015-03-26T02:12:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I think you misunderstand Little Nemo’s post. PM him for a clarification if you must. I can confirm that. I did not say that cockroaches would become extinct. What I said was that most of them would die. Blake might have a problem with posts that wander outside his narrow definition of what the topic should be. But I wasn’t the first poster to discuss something other than total species extinction. Related topics were raised even in the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-humans-vanish-how-many-other-species-die/715924.md?page=2)