This is due to the violent event that caused it the extinction, as well as the chapter of earth’s history that it closed: the Dinosaurs. The Cretaceous Event ( often shortened to K-T event) Of the animals that were killed off were the flying reptiles (pterosaurs) and the last few mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, both early marine reptiles. Many mollusks and species of microscopic plankton were killed. Terrestrial plants suffered mass extinction as well. Almost 60% of terrestrial plants were lost.
Rhinoceros - Sadly, the White, Black and Javan rhinoceros are all on the critically endangered list. The Indonesian Javan Rhino is in particularly bad shape with having less than 60 of their kind left in the world. There are about 3000 Black Rhinos. Illegal Hunting is their major threat. Giant Panda - The Giant panda originates from China, Burma and Vietnam.
The extinction of indigenous animals has been an ongoing problem that has not received the attention it deserves. Biologists have studied the pattern of mass extinction with growing concern. The world’s species are declining at a rate 10,000 times faster than normal according to a census of the world’s species (Dugan). What is causing such a rapid increase in extinction is unknown however there is one thing that is indisputable: human interference is playing a direct role. Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing or capturing of animals.
The continents most affected by the Holocene extinction are North and South America because that is where a majority of the megafauna lived thousand of years ago; of these was the Woolly mammoth. In the 1800’s, the ecosystem (over hunted and deforested) was not resilient enough to protect themselves from the industrial e... ... middle of paper ... ...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.
It is thought that at least 4,000-6,000 species become extinct each year in the rain forest alone due to burning acreage to make room for farm fields (Today’s situation). Most of the human caused extinctions occurred during the Industrial Revolution, which was 250 years ago (Sherry, 2). Another significant reason for the decline, if not extinction of species is hunting and poaching animals. A good example of this is the near extinction of the American Bison due to over hunting. Between 1870 and 1875, 2.5 million Bison were killed annually.
Scientists calculate that without humans about one to five species would die a year, which is considered the background rate of extinction. But in our current society human activities are destroying many of the chances these animals need to survive. We as a planet are killing species at a rate 1,000 to 10,000 times more than the expected rate. Unlike previous extinctions 99% of the species, listed on the endangered species list, established by the endangered species act, became threatened due to human activities, such as the introduction of invasive species, habitat destruction, and global warming (The Extinction Crisis). What can we do to stop this?
“Little more than 3,000 tigers are left in the wild.” (Dybas, Last of the Forest Guardians) This is becoming a huge problem in today’s time because there should not be an issue with tigers. They lived peacefully in the wild until we come along and disrupted their homes, families, and lives. Tigers are just as important to the world as all the other animals. There have been many precautions taken in other countries to try and help the tiger survive. There are many things that contribute to the endangerment of tigers.
Besides that even construction and agriculture take the homes away from gorillas that were especially set aside. For these reasons’ gorillas are disappearing rapidly and must be taken care of. The western lowland gorilla is listed as an endangered species. Others are Eastern lowland, and Mountain Gorilla. A population of endangered gorillas living in a national park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has dropped fifty percent because of rebels, says the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
If any one species gets wiped out it will completely disrupt the food chain. The Black Rhino population has gone down 97.6 percent since the 1960’s and up to 35,000 elephants were killed last year. Poaching has put these beautiful animals in endangerment. Endangered animals are slaughtered for a single body part like tusks, pelts, or bones. These parts are sold illegally for large sums of money.
In 1980 there were over one million elephants, by 1989 more than 600,000 elephants were killed(Christ 32). Those 600,000 killed elephants were over half of the elephant population. If this keeps declining at this rate, the whole elephant population will be extinct. This proves that the poaching is becoming so unmanageable. Therefore, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is trying to do something to manage and prevent poaching and the decline of the population.