1839 India Cyclone - Deaths: 300,000+. Destroyed Coringa port city completely.13
Animal Suffering
The vast majority of suffering on Earth occurs among wild animals. Many species produce hundreds or thousands of offspring, with only a tiny fraction surviving to adulthood:
A single female Atlantic cod can produce 9 million eggs, with 99.99% dying before maturity.14
Sea turtles lay 110 eggs per nest, with only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings surviving to adulthood.15
Female oysters release 50-100 million eggs annually, with survival rates below 0.1%.16
Salmon produce 2,500-7,000 eggs per female, with 85% mortality before adulthood.18
This reproductive strategy (r-selection) ensures massive suffering as the default state in nature, with trillions of animals experiencing painful deaths through starvation, predation, disease, and exposure.19
"The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive; others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear; others are being slowly devoured from within by rasping parasites; thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst and disease."
- Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden
Evolutionary Suffering
The fossil record reveals billions of years of suffering before humans existed:
Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (445-440 million years ago)
The first major mass extinction, occurring in two pulses. A severe glaciation period combined with falling sea levels caused massive habitat loss. Organisms with calcium carbonate shells were particularly affected.
85% of marine species lost
2 major extinction pulses
Evidence:
Geological records showing rapid glaciation and sea level changes
Graptolite and trilobite fossils showing sudden disappearance in strata
Late Devonian Extinction (375-360 million years ago)
A prolonged series of extinctions that devastated marine ecosystems. Reef-building organisms were virtually eliminated, and the first forests may have contributed to anoxic conditions in the oceans.
Fossil records of ammonoids and reef-building organisms showing abrupt decline
Black shale deposits indicating low oxygen conditions
Permian-Triassic Extinction (252 million years ago)
The most severe mass extinction in Earth's history, affecting both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Massive volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps released enormous quantities of carbon dioxide and methane, causing extreme global warming, ocean acidification, and widespread anoxia.
96% of marine species lost
70% of terrestrial vertebrates lost
83% of insect genera lost
Evidence:
Carbon isotope excursions in rocks indicating massive volcanic eruptions
Microfossil analysis showing ocean acidification
Stratigraphic boundaries showing abrupt species disappearance
Pyrite framboids indicating hydrogen sulfide poisoning in oceans
Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (201 million years ago)
Massive volcanic eruptions from the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province caused climate disruption, releasing carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide leading to global warming and acid rain. This created ecological space for dinosaurs to dominate.
80% of species eliminated
42% of terrestrial genera lost
Evidence:
Mercury anomalies in sedimentary rocks indicating volcanic activity
Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (66 million years ago)
The extinction that killed all non-avian dinosaurs was caused by a massive asteroid impact at Chicxulub, Mexico. The impact triggered tsunamis, wildfires, and a global "impact winter" as dust blocked sunlight for years, collapsing food chains worldwide.
75% of species eliminated
10km asteroid diameter
Evidence:
Global iridium layer at K-Pg boundary
Chicxulub crater in Mexico dates to exact extinction time
Fossil record shows abrupt disappearance of numerous species
Evidence of tsunami deposits, shocked quartz, and tektites
Conclusion
Suffering is widespread throughout natural history, affecting most sentient beings that have ever existed. The scale and distribution of suffering across species and geological time periods are documented in fossil records and contemporary data.