Dorota Giżyńska Why Do Animals Face Extinction?

Every year, on the third Friday in May, we celebrate Endangered Species Day. An animal is regarded as endangeredendangeredendangered when its numbers in the wild have plummetedplummeted [plummet]plummeted so low that it may face extinctionface extinctionface extinction. The IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List gives a gruesomegruesomegruesome number of species which are currently endangered. It’s 41,415.

Endangered speciesendangered species [endangered specie]Endangered species are living things which are on the verge of extinctionon the verge of extinctionon the verge of extinction. Species become endangered due to many factors. Natural disasters can result in the destruction of animal habitats. Dinosaurs, for example, became extinctbecome extinctbecame extinct 65 million years ago as a result of an asteroid which hit the Earth. As a consequence, debrisdebrisdebris was thrown into the atmosphere, decreasing the quantity of heat and light reaching Earth's surface. The dinosaurs couldn't adjust toadjust toadjust to their new, cooler environment. Undoubtedly, it is now human activity that contributes tocontributes to [contribute to]contributes to species extinction on a global scale.

One of the biggest threats for animals is plastic pollution. It mainly affects marinemarinemarine animals that digest plastic thrown into water by people. Deforestation poses another threat. Forests provide habitats for species, so when trees are cut down, animals lose their places to live and reproducereproducereproduce. This may be especially witnessed in the Amazon rainforests where logging and cattle ranching pose one of the biggest dangers for many species. As a result, whole ecosystemsecosystems [ecosystem]ecosystems are disturbed and food chainsfood chains [food chain]food chains are broken.

Habitat loss may also occuroccuroccur as a result of human development. During the twentieth century, cities such as Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, expanded significantlyexpanded significantly [expand significantly]expanded significantly. The habitat of the mountain lion shrankshrank [shrink]shrank as human regions spread into the wilderness. Polar bears, mountain lions, and alligators are among the predatorspredators [predator]predators that have come into close contact with humans as their natural habitat has been encroachedencroached [encroach]encroached upon by homes, farms, and enterprises. In turn, more and more such contacts lead to animal and human conflicts, which contribute to dwindlingdwindlingdwindling animal populations. In some countries, like Zambia, elephants are being killed as a punishment for attacking and killing people or destroying their crops.

The illicitillicitillicit trade and slaughter of wildlife is known as poaching. Animals or their parts are occasionally sold as trophiestrophies [trophy]trophies, jewellery, food or „folk medicine,” and other times as pets. Native species may also become endangered as a result of people killing animals with pesticidespesticides [pesticide]pesticides, traffic accidents, or hunting.

Natural selectionnatural selectionNatural selection is also to blame for the fact that some species are endangered. For example, cheetahs are a threatenedthreatened [threaten]threatened African and Asian species because there is virtuallyvirtuallyvirtually little genetic variationgenetic variationgenetic variation among these large cats. It means that they are more vulnerablevulnerablevulnerable and prone toprone toprone to diseases and they are not able to adapt to the changes in the environment. PreservationpreservationPreservation programmes are also difficult to incorporateincorporateincorporate because cheetahs are considerably harder to procreate in captivityin captivityin captivity than other big cats like lions. Human activity such as overfishing and overhunting can also lead to a loss of genetic variation. Environmentalistsenvironmentalists [environmentalist]Environmentalists are trying to make people aware of the harm which is being done to animals by humans. Laws may be introduced to limit hunting and large fines may be imposed on people who break the law. Let’s hope it’s not too late.

1 Źródło: Dorota Giżyńska, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.