Since the pilot episode of the most ambitious reality series ever — “Survivor: Earth” — roughly 65 million years ago, humans have been on a long winning streak. Each week, they’ve voted other species off the island at a surprising rate. 844 animals and plants are known to have been voted off in the last 500 years, according to a recent count. They’ve managed to dominate the show, winning every Challenge and conspiring against other species (such as their successful alliance with cows to vote off numerous rainforest species). Dolphins and chimps showed some promise at various points, but they’ve remained dark-horse contenders, along with cockroaches.
When viewers got bored with “Survivor: Dinosaurs,” the show was yanked from the lineup, making way for the current “Survivor” series. But that earlier show was quite successful, running for 165 million years. Unfortunately, at the rate it’s developing, the current series may not have the staying power.
Humans spur worst extinctions since dinosaurs (Reuters)
