>>41087486
is it true most have failed?
Apparently yes
The set of animals that are at least probably conscious (based on current scientific consensus, primarily encompassing all vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes, plus select invertebrates like cephalopods where evidence supports a reasonable likelihood of consciousness) and that can only reproduce sexually (obligate sexual reproducers, excluding those capable of any asexual methods like parthenogenesis, even if facultative) is vast. This includes humans, nearly all mammals and birds, most reptiles and fishes, and cephalopods like octopuses and squids—encompassing tens of thousands of extant species and potentially millions more across Earth's 500-million-year history of animal life, including extinct groups like dinosaurs, ancient marine reptiles, and prehistoric mammals.
No, the majority of them do not breed. Across most animal species—especially those with high fecundity like many fishes, amphibians, and small mammals—the vast majority of individuals born do not survive to reproductive age and thus never reproduce. In stable populations, limited resources mean that, on average, only about two offspring per breeding pair survive to breed themselves, while the rest (often numbering in the dozens, hundreds, or thousands per clutch or litter) die young due to predation, disease, starvation, or other factors. This dynamic holds throughout Earth's history, as evidenced by fossil records and modern ecological patterns, and applies specifically to sexually reproducing species (asexual modes don't alter the core survival math in relevant groups). Even in species with lower offspring numbers and higher parental investment (e.g., large mammals like elephants or humans), historical high mortality rates mean most individuals across all such animals have not bred.
