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Visualizing the Biomass of All the World’s Mammals

by Nick Routley
This post is by Nick Routley from Visual Capitalist

Infographic breakdown of the biomass of mammals on Earth

Visualizing the Biomass of All the World’s Mammals

Even as we understand more about the world we live in, certain aspects of it remain undefined or hard to comprehend.

One such example is in the scale and distribution of Earth’s life. What’s the ratio of wild to domesticated animals? How much do all of the world’s humans weigh?

Until recently, such questions were nearly unanswerable. A new report titled The Global Biomass of Wild Mammals helps shed more light on the composition and scale of life on our planet. The research provides an estimate of the biomass of all mammals, globally—including humans.

So, What is Biomass Anyway?

Humans and animals are commonly referred to as “carbon-based lifeforms”. This is for good reason. Carbon is present in every single living organism as complex molecules and compounds, making it an essential part of our biology. Biomass, or the mass of organisms, is typically measured in terms of carbon makeup because it is the one thing that all life on Earth shares.

These carbon building blocks are used as a form of measurement in the visualization above.

One component worth pointing out is that animals contribute very different amounts to the world’s biomass total. By sheer volume alone, rodents make up a significant share of wild mammal weight. Whales, on the other hand, are massive, so a smaller number of individuals can contribute a meaningful portion to overall biomass.

Mammalian Biomass, Organized Neatly

Each larger cube above represents 20 million metric tons (Read more...)

Visualizing Orangutans: The Most Endangered Great Ape

by Freny Fernandes
This post is by Freny Fernandes from Visual Capitalist

Click to view this graphic in a higher-resolution.

The most endangered great ape: Orangutan

Orangutan: The Most Endangered Great Ape

Just 50 years ago, millions of our orange-haired relatives—the orangutans—populated Earth.

But over the past five decades, these numbers have declined by 50%, and orangutans are estimated to completely disappear in the next 50 years. Currently, the world’s most endangered great ape is on a path to extinction.

This illustrated graphic by Shehryar Saharan uses a wide range of information to highlight the threats that led to the downfall of the world’s orangutans, and what can be done to prevent their extinction. Sources include National Geographic, the New England Primate Conservancy, WWF, the IUCN Red List, Current Biology, Our World in Data, Nature, AAAS, and Britannica.

Where Are the Orangutans?

These long-haired, orange, and gentle primates are closely related to humans. They are extremely intelligent, and also crucial to the ecosystem as they help spread the seeds of trees in the forests they inhabit.

Found exclusively in the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia, these tree-dwellers are Asia’s only great apes. Their three species are all found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

SpeciesScientific nameLocationDistinct Physical Features
Sumatran OrangutanPongo abeliiSumatra (Indonesia)Wide cheek pads, longer hair.
Bornean OrangutanPongo pygmaeusIsland of Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia)Small beard, broad face, dark fur.
Tapanuli OrangutanPongo tapanuliensisSumatra (Indonesia)Flat face, Frizzy hair.

Bornean Orangutans

The dark reddish-haired Bornean Orangutans are more likely than the others to come (Read more...)