Introduction: What Does it Mean to be Endangered?
At some point in a human’s life while watching your favorite tv show or movie, you’ve seen a commercial about wanting your monthly or one-time donation to save endangered animals. While watching, you feel the need to donate because you mourn for the sad looking critters and want to do everything you can to help. You call the 1-800 number listed on the advertisement, make your donation and then forget about it until you see a similar commercial. Do you really understand the concept of when an animal is endangered and what it takes for them to be considered endangered?
To become endangered means that a species is on the verge of becoming extinct. When the species is actually extinct, there are no more of them on the entire planet (wonderopolis.org). The two main causes behind this is due to the species either losing their habitat or from genetic variation (nationalgeographic.org). Since 1967, there have been 1,800 threatened and endangered species added to the list under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 including its amendments, the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. After being counted for, the species conservation status could change back and forth between
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These include critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened and least concern. They are known as “conservation statuses” and each have varying reasons as to how and why a species is considered to be in that category. The qualifications that a species has to meet in the first three classifications listed are population reduction rate, geographic range, population size, population restrictions and probability of extinction. There are two additional classifications of endangerment on a higher level, including extinct in the wild and extinct
1973 had the Endangered Species Act which encouraged the conservation of species that are endangered or threated and conservation of their ecosystems.
marine, either threatened or endangered. Under these terms species could no. longer be hunted, collected, injured or killed. The northern spotted owl falls under the more serious condition of being endangered. Also, the bill forbids federal agencies to fund or carry out any activity that would threaten the species or its habitat. It is the latter part of the bill that causes the controversy.
While some people may think that they’re “protecting” the animals from extinction, that’s not something that they should be doing. That is a job for zoos and animal protection facilities. People should just visit the zoo if they want to see the animals that much
The only number that scientist have given is around 1.9 million animal species and there could be even more yet to be discovered. Scientist believes there are approximately 450,000 plant species in the world but even that number isn’t solid number to work with. We can however calculate the current extinction rate of the known species of animal and plant life and actually track how many die each year. (Dell’Amore
...2100 if man continue on their harmful rampage. At the present time, there are 3,947 animals critically endangered and 5,766 endangered. The percentages of animals in danger of extinction are 41% of amphibian species, 33% of reef-building corals, 30% of conifers, 25% of mammals, and 13% of birds. Educator is the country with the highest endangered animals, with an insane 2,211.
9. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: The Endangered Species Act of 1973. Department of the
Endangered Species Act History: The date was December 28, 1973 and the U.S. Congress proudly submits and successfully passed one of its largest pieces of environmental legislation ever: the Endangered Species Act. This act was signed by Richard Nixon into law and passed with a staggering 355 to 4 vote. The law was hailed by proud legislators as the right action, and, if anything, long overdue (Dwyer, Ehrlich, & Murphy, 1995). This act prohibits many activities involving endangered species. These prohibitions include: importation into and exportation from the U.S.; taking of species within the U.S. and its territorial seas, this includes all land areas public and private; selling, possessing, carrying, shipping, or delivering any such species unlawfully taken within the U.S., and selling or offering for sale of species in interstate or foreign commerce (WWW site, ESA).
The National Wildlife Federation lists an endangered animals as a genus that may be eradicated by leaving an insufficient quantity to reproduce or obliterating the species in it entirety ("Endangered animals act," para 1). In the United States alone there are 70 mammals that are recorded as endangered; however the foreign number exceeds 250 (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2014). The extinction process could be correlated to a natural route; however extinction may also transpire due to environmental differences. Climate variations producing even slight changes in characteristics may have an extreme consequence on an endangered species. Loss of habitation also impacts species causing them to becoming imperiled. On occasion ailments are distributed from domestic animal; due to the loss of habitation wild animals to come in contact with infected animals. For example Siberian tigers have development distemper from domestic dogs; and this has triggered the tigers to lose their fear of humans. This proves to be hazardous when the tigers approach villages and roads and are killed; furthermore the disease may cost the tigers their lives. (Dell’Amore, 2013). Many of the vanishing animals are poached for varies elements that may be utilized in traditional treatment. The African rhino is on species that is being significantly exploited for their horns; in Vietnam and China the horn is thought to treat everything from hangovers to cancer (O’Neill, 2013). In addition, the introduction of an exotic species afflicts endangered animals, and the overexploitation of animals initiates noteworthy reductions in populations. If an animal is not able to adapt to changing variations it could be disastrous to a species.
Abuse towards animals is recognized by many in the commercials shown on television, including the Sarah McLaughlin song and the pictures of animals starved and beaten. The commercials are shown quite regularly and give viewers a small look into the world of animal cruelty. What the commercials do not show, however, are the countless cases of people getting away with violence, as well as the hundreds of thousands of animals who did not live to make the commercials. Television, radio, and internet ads often depict and portray the lives of animals living in shelters, and ask the public to donate money each month for the cause. Without a doubt, this is the extent of what many people can say their experience with animal cruelty consists of: pictures and short video clips of half-dead dogs and cats left to die in over-crowded housing.
So what is an endangered species? What is an extinct species? What has happened to cause them to become endangered or extinct? What needs to be done in order to save the endangered species from becoming extinct? Can anything be done to save them? The answer to most of these questions is not known by everyone. With all the attention that this subject gets from the government or groups that fight for the environment, it gets the same amount of disregard from the public. Many people want to help or donate but very few of those actually follow through. This is a very important subject that needs to be taken serious by the public. It needs their full attention because they are the ones that can truly make a change. People really don’t understand the concept of extinction. If somethi...
Any species which fall into the categories vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are considered to be at risk of extinction. Robert Redford said “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security defense of our resource’s because it’s just as important as defense abroad otherwise what is there to defend?” People should all take the environment more seriously and protect the future for those to come. It’s our responsibility to ensure that the children to come may enjoy all of earth’s beauty, and not through old issues of National Geographic’s.
In the world today there are about five thousand endangered species. Around one specie dies out every year. Some animals become endangered because people are killing them for their horns, as in the case of the Black Rhino of Africa. Others become extinct because pesticides are put on the food we eat, causing the animals that eat the insects off the plant to become contaminated, which causes their predators to become contaminated, which often affects the shell of that organism?s egg. Here is a list of the endangered species, 91 endangered birds, 76 endangered mammals, 36 endangered reptiles, 21 endangered amphibians, 115 endangered fish, 70 endangered clams, 35 endangered snails, 44 endangered insects, 12 endangered arachnids, 21 endangered crustaceans, 594 endangered flowering plants.
If more people are aware of new animals on the endangered species list, there is more of a chance that researchers will get more funds. Zoos also create habitats for animals on the verge of extinction where otherwise there would be none. There is some controversy between zoos and endangered species. Because of the limited gene pool of a species, the variation is greatly limited. This will –as an end result- lead to inbreeding which will create mutations and defects in the offspring.
Although it may not seem saving or protecting endangered animals is important, it actually and truly is important because animals around the world are being killed for wildlife marketing purposes which is illegal and destroys the species population in that environment. Citizens should take more care of these endangered animals before they become totally extinct and will no longer be seen on the face of the earth. Recently researchers have found that poachers (hunters who hunt animals for their value by trading illegal merchandise) are killing thousands of animals a day, and they are doing so even to this day. These species should be treated with more responsibility and care. They are even being killed by human interactions such as deforestation, oil spills, etc.
In our world today we have approximately 26,021 endangered species. Endangered species are organisms that may possible become extinct. The term 'endangered species' refers to all species that fits this description. However some conservation biologists and scientists normally use the term ‘endangered species’ to refer to species that are put on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature)Red List. Many factors can be looked at when considering the conservation status of a species. Factors such as human threats or environmental threats can cause a species to become endangered.