| THE GIANT PANDA, Sri Lankan elephant,
gorilla, chimpanzee, Siberian tiger, black rhinoceros,
whale, spider monkey, lion, cheetah, snow leopard, red
wolf and the dugong are just some endangered species. We are lucky in that we have seen these beautiful creatures in the wild in their natural habitat. If we keep treating this planet in the manner we have been, the only way our future generations will see these creatures will be in a book or on a CD ROM. Endangered species are plants and animals that are in immediate danger of extinction. Extinction is a normal process in the course of evolution. Throughout geological time, many more species have become extinct than exist today. These animals slowly disappear because of climatic changes and the inability to adapt to competition and predators. Since the 1600’s, the impact of human population growth and advances in technology on natural habitats, have been responsible for the rapid rise in extinction. Animals become endangered for a number of reasons. The main reason being habitat destruction. Drainage of wetlands, the changing of shrub lands to grazing land, cutting and clearing of forests, suburbanization and highway and dam construction have seriously reduced habitats. As habitats become broken up into ‘islands’, the remaining animal populations crowd into smaller areas, causing further habitat destruction. Animals in these small islands lose contact with other animals of their own kind, which reduces their genetic variation. This makes them less adaptable to environmental change. For some animals, the damaged habitats become too small to support a population. Hunting of animals for food and other products has caused many animals to become extinct or endangered. The Siberian tiger is one of the many creatures killed for its skin and meat. Introduced diseases and predators, which native fauna has no defences against, have also destroyed or greatly reduced some species. Pollution is another important cause of extinctions. Water pollution and increased water temperatures have wiped out species of fish in several habitats. |
The Gorilla has been
included on the endangered species list owing to a number of
these causes. Gorillas are the largest, rarest and most
powerful; anthropoid apes and are on the verge of
disappearing off the face of the earth. They inhabit the
forests of Africa from the lowlands near the Cameroon
coast to the central highlands of Zaire and Uganda. Gorillas are now considered to be in danger of extinction due to habitat destruction, collection of young and poaching. Karl Ammann, a Kenya-based photographer and wildlife campaigner who is advising the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals), says: "Companies engaged in logging must be called to account for the slaughter of apes before it’s too late". Another endangered species is the whale. Whales are unique among all mammals in that they carry out their complete life history, from birth to death, in the water. Whales, at present, can be found in oceans all over the world depending on the season. The chairman of the International Whaling Commission, Dr Peter Bridgewater, said: "The biggest danger to whales is not the practice of whaling, which remains largely off the agenda, but global change." "By Global change I mean not only climatic change, but also other effects such as the ozone hole and the spread of pollutants". Whales are now in great danger of extinction. Because of a lack of law enforcement, and the activities of poachers and dealers who supply the trade, the future of many species is in doubt in spite of legal protection. Today the majority of the world’s environments are changing faster than the ability of most species to adapt to such changes. People are cutting down forests faster than they can plant more trees and this leaves beautiful creatures like the Sri Lankan elephant homeless. The future of animals all over the world is becoming increasingly uncertain. Surely we must stand united and save these endangered species for our own sakes as much as theirs. The next species to make the endangered list could very well be the "homo sapien". By Johanna |