These Animals Are Officially On the Brink of Extinction
Jan 25, 2019 • Therese Aseoche
Jan 25, 2019 • Therese Aseoche
As humanity continues to ruin the earth with plastic pollution, improper waste management, climate change, and unsustainable hunting and catching practices, all those part of our ecosystem are suffering greatly from our actions. It’s only until it’s too late when we realize the horrible impact of our ignorance.
Here are just some more animals that are now officially endangered or threatened to be:
When was the last time you ate tawilis (freshwater sardine)? Well, news just broke out that it is now endangered due to overfishing, illegal use of active fishing gears, increasing use of fish cages, and the deterioration of the water quality in Taal Lake where it is found, based on a research done at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
With some of its subspecies now listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, there’s no saying if giraffes are going to walk the earth’s surface within the next 50 years. According to the IUCN report, the Kordofan and Nubian subspecies are tagged as “critically endangered,” the reticulated giraffe as “endangered,” the Thornicrofts and West African giraffes as “vulnerable,” and the Rothschild’s giraffe as “near threatened.”
This is most likely due to habitat loss, illegal hunting, and threatening human-wildlife contact.
It’s sad to say that even the humble sea otter isn’t safe from extinction. Due to oil spills, habitat degradation, and accidental conflict with humans (such as shootings and entrapment in fishing traps and gear), the population of sea otters have nearly decreased to a dangerous level until they finally gained protection under the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species Acts in the 1970s.
Their numbers may have recovered, but are still far from original population figures.
An IUCN report back in 2017 listed the cheetah as vulnerable, with a 50% decline in their population in the last 43 years. Cheetahs are also increasingly being driven out from Asia, with only about 50 adult cheetahs left roaming in Iran. This is largely due to loss of habitat and being poached for their skins. Cubs are also being illegally traded.
Calls to make the cheetah labelled as “officially endangered” rather than “vulnerable” are being made by environmentalists and wildlife experts, although we should already be regarding them as such even without a formal declaration.
Among all rhinos, the Sumatran Rhino is the most endangered subspecies due to the rapid decline of its number over the last 20 years. According to National Geographic, there are only an estimated 80 Sumatran Rhinos left in the world to date with a rare chance of getting to breed with one another due to their being scattered and isolated across the country.
These adorable tree-dwelling animals native to the Himalayan forests are also listed as endangered by the IUCN, with an estimated population of less than 10,000 left in the world due to deforestation, illegal hunting, direct conflict with humans and hunters, and illegal trade.
How can you not be alarmed at the fact that every single subspecies of hummingbird is listed as endangered by the IUCN, including a one in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains which had just been discovered months ago? This is largely due to deforestation, climate change, pesticides, and even their domestication.
The number of endangered species are far too plenty to fit in this simple listicle, and that’s the harsh reality we live in today.
Here’s how we can help them:
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