I mention this only to add to your informative post. Humans almost drove whales extinct because their rendered fat produced less fat for lamp fuel, and they are substantially pelagic. We almost drove bison extinct in NA in a matter of decades. We are driving massive numbers of species across trophic levels extinct, right now https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/29/us-anima...

It isn't a choice, climate change related habitat changes probably contributed - which is also extremely pertinent today - but when you find the extinct species bones in human habitats it's a fair sign we were a contributing and possibly decisive cause.