- Animals become endangered due to habitat destruction - for buildings, highways etc, habitat destruction due to climate change/global warming and over-hunting.
- Habitat destruction: building houses, clearing forests to get lumber and plant crops, draining rivers to bring water to those crops, and paving over meadows to make streets and parking lots.
- The illegal wildlife trade is valued at between 7 and 23 billion USD per year and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes.
- In South Africa alone, one arrest for rhino related crime happens every day.
- Nearly 20 tons of pangolin scales were seized from illegal shipments originating from Africa between 2013 and 2016, according to U.S. officials. They said the scales came from as many as 39,000 pangolins.
- Poachers have sophisticated techniques for smuggling animals. Baby bears, leopards, and monkeys have been sedated and stuffed into suitcases for transport. Live animals have been sold to people who want exotic pets or medical research subjects, and animal pelts and other body parts are also secretly smuggled across borders and sold through black market networks of buyers who pay high prices for illegal animal products.
- A lack of restriction on the whaling industry in the 20th century nearly caused extinction. It wasn't until countries agreed to abide by an international moratorium, that some whale species have rebounded, but others still remain at risk.
The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. These experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year. If the low estimate of the number of species out there is true - i.e. that there are around 2 million different species on our planet - then that means between 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year. But if the upper estimate of species numbers is true - that there are 100 million different species co-existing with us on our planet - then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are becoming extinct each year.
How to help:
Increase public knowledge/Raise Awareness
- 75% of the world's fisheries are fully or over exploited
- Up to 70% of the world's known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5 degrees Celsius
- 1 in 4 mammals, 1 in 8 birds, 1 in 3 amphibians, and over 70% of the world's plant life are under significant threat of extinction
- 3/4 of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost
Reduce threat of Invasive Species
- An invasive species is an animal or plant that is not native to a habitat/ecosystem, and by entering it causes an in balance.
- Commonly caused by mistakes in international trade and transport, sees foreign species disrupt ecosystems, either as an unwanted predator, by spreading disease, or simply outnumbering other species over time.
Say No to Pesticides and Chemical Fertilizers
- There has been a connection discovered between pesticides and bee extinction.
- Where possible, try to eat organically grown produce.
Recycle
- We use up to 260 million tonnes of plastic annually, and plastic accounts fir around 60 to 80 percent of marine debris, and some plastics remain in the environment for hundreds of years.
- Animals injure themselves on our trash everyday, or unknowingly ingest it.
Don't by products made from endangered animals
- Illegal trade is an ongoing international problem.
- Beware of buying souvenirs made from ivory (elephant), tiger, rhino, sea turtle, monkey, ape, crocodile, snake etc. If it looks like it may be made from an animal, it's best to not take the chance.
Eat a Low Impact Diet
- Use natural products in meals, and try to source them locally.
- Stop wasting food, and cook in one pan to use as little energy as possible.
- Grow your own herb garden.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K9ssHKJeG4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqNROoKmPLU
https://www.unitedforwildlife.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKH8kITk2AIVbL7tCh0epAvOEAAYAiAAEgKK9PD_BwE#!/taskforce-resources
https://www.thoughtco.com/how-species-become-endangered-1181928
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/biodiversity/
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