Endangered Animals: The Causes and How to Protect

From 41,415 animal species, 16,306 of them are facing extinction according to IUCN’s Red List. Some of these animals are the Amur Leopard, the Orangutan, the Hawksbill Turtle, the African Wild Dog, and many more. It is our job to protect these animals because of their vital roles in our ecosystem. Every species has a significant role. Some animals bring nutrients, others help purify the air, and some clean the oceans. Therefore, saving animals saves our earth, and there are numerous ways to protect them. 

The critical question is, what causes animals to become endangered? Mainly, the loss of habitat and genetic variations causes them to go extinct. Human beings need to extend their lands, improve their roads, and develop their countries, so they would crossover these animals’ natural habitats and build on them. Sometimes, losing their habitats can come from nature. When the sun is too hot, or when the weather is too humid, this can interfere with their habitats and causes them to deteriorate. This will leave the species homeless and causes them to reproduce less. Loss of genetic variations is another reason. Due to many animals inbreeding, there is no new genetic information being added to these species. This will leave them with a weak immune system and an easier target for diseases. Animals may inbreed because, due to the excessive hunting and fishing, there are not many different breeding pairs. 

Animals like pandas were once highly endangered. There were not many bamboo trees, and since bamboo is 99% of their diet, pandas faced extinction. However, China rescued them by restoring their habitat, creating many reserves, and looking closely after them. It took them a long while to grow back their number, but they eventually got to it. The answer to ways of saving these animals is to restore their habitats, grow more of their foods, and create as many reserves as possible. This will ensure their growth and reproduction. 

Illegally hunting and trading animals is another reason why many species are becoming endangered. Hunters kill mammals for their distinctive furs to make jackets and other attire; they kill reptiles for their skin to make exotic bags and shoes. Installing strict laws and heavy penalties against hunters will make them stop and have these animals grow and prosper. Another reason is due to the lack of awareness people have. They would throw away their waste and ruin beaches with plastics and rubbish. This causes sea animals to eat these wastes when they’re laying their eggs, which causes them to choke on these wastes and lead to their deaths. We can prevent this by simply cleaning up after ourselves, stopping throwing away plastics and recycling them instead, and replacing all our plastic items with reusable ones

In conclusion, saving and protecting animals benefits us and our environment. It is a pleasure getting to see these exotic creatures, and for future generations to get to see them too is a great blessing. Our ecosystem will thrive since it is made up of equal parts of humans and animals. We might lose a lot if these animals go extinct. Therefore, we should try our best to reduce our waste, stop hunting and ruining the habitats of these animals, and grow and restore their natural homes.

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