Don't you think that we have lost enough? We have lost rainforests, part of the ozone layer, most of our natural resources, and now we are going to lose animals! At least more animals than what we have already lost.
An endangered species is a population of organisms which are at risk of becoming extinct because they are either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Animals can get endangered or extinct naturally, or from human reasons. It can happen naturally from natural competition, or from natural disasters.
Natural competition is when species compete for food and/or living spaces. An example of an animal species affected by this is the mussel. Natural disasters can wipe out or endanger a whole species. An example of an animal species affected by a natural disaster was the dinosaur. If the theory is true, the meteor that crashed down to the earth wiped out the whole species.
We have contributed to animals getting endangered too. The pollution that we create damages many animals' habitats. An example of an animal that has been affected by our pollution is the sea turtle. Over hunting is also a huge threat. When people overhunt, they hunt too much of an animal species, so either not many animals left, or no animals are left at all. Examples of some over hunted animals are the Bali Tiger and the Atlantic Cod. Clear cutting is also very dangerous for the animals. It destroys animals' habitats and leaves them with no place to live. Examples of some animals that have been affected by clear cutting are the many species in the Amazon rainforest. When huge corporations cut down sections of the rainforest of the rainforest many animals lose their homes.Animals become endangered before they become extinct. Endangered animals have to be very well protected because if we do not take care of the few ones that are left of one species, the whole species could disappear completely. Examples of some endangered animals are: the Sea Otter, the Panda Bear, the Siberian Tiger, the American Bison, the Mountain Gorilla, and the Liberian Lynx. Many other living things are in big danger of becoming extinct. There are at least 1000 different species of mammals and birds that are extremely rare today. No one can even possibly try to guess the number of insect and plant species in danger. For many centuries animals have been made extinct because of human over hunting or other reasons. During the last 350 years, 95 different bird species and 40 different mammal species have become extinct. Examples of some extinct animals are: 500 AD the Giant Lemur, about 1000 AD the Flightless lbis, about 1500 the Giant Moa, 1627 the Auroch, 1681 the Dodo, 1883 the Quagga, 1994 Passenger Pigeon, 1918 Carolina Parakeet. Should the list go on?
Many organizations such as WWF (World Wildlife Fund) are focused on helping animals, and the environment. They try to be actively eco-friendly, try to get the habitats for many endangered plants and animals protected. They do research on the species, they educate people etc. Zoos also help. They let many endangered species thrive and reproduce in a healthy and safe environment. Sometimes the zoo might even let an endangered animal go back into the wild to try to raise population numbers again.
Not only can the big organizations help, you can too, You can donate money or you could volunteer or contact your local organization to get involved, or you could do the simplest thing of all, CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!
As you can see we have most of the fault in animals getting endangered and extinct. This is now becoming a global issue, but most people are finally taking notice. Do you really want more animals disappearing?
