Animal Extinction and Endangerment

Main Causes
The last two centuries witnessed accelerated rates of animal extinction and
endangerment which took place alongside industrial progress and rapid growth
in human populations.
humans are the ultimate weed species... We have shown an incredible ability to invade,
change, and inhabit every habitat type on the planet. Richard P. Reading (1)
While natural extinction of species takes place continuously in the background of
history, it has also been estimated that the current extinction rates are around 1,000
times higher than the background extinction rates. (2)
The main fundamental cause of animal extinction in most recent times has been,
without any reasonable doubt, human demand, either for animal resources directly,
or for the natural resources constituting the animals habitats.
In addition to that, there are other indirect causes which are nonetheless initiated by
human activities.
We explore these areas in depth below.

Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

Orangutans are endangered

due to loss of
their rainforest habitat

Habitat loss, as a result of human demand, is widely considered to be the most

important cause of animal extinction.
Rainforests are the main habitats for tropical animals.
There are huge demands laid constantly on forests by various parties.
Tropical rainforests are cleared for wood / timber resources, development of petroleum
resources (see the oil contamination case of Ecuador rainforest), mineral resources, for
cash-crop plantations and subsistence farming.
Richard P. Reading summarizes the effects of habitat loss and its contribution to
animal extinction very well below:
Habitat changes reduce biotic integrity (i.e., ecosystem health), deplete native
species, and greatly simplify the system and its habitats (e.g., crop agriculture).
The process of habitat destruction is incremental. Each piece of habitat may not
seem important individually, but there are cumulative effects. The process is
more insidious than direct overexploitation. No one holds a smoking gun. The
native species simply vanish.

The effects of these changes can be predicted mathematically.

Roughly, when 90% of the habitat is eliminated, 50% of the species will be
lost.
Selection of the lost species, however, is not random.
The larger, wide-ranging species, such as large carnivores, suffer first.
Because those groups often contribute to healthy ecosystem processes, a wave
of secondary losses may follow their decline
Animals that conflict with humans are also the victims of concerted eradication
efforts.
Species with a narrow geographic range, or species that were never common,
are vulnerable as well.
Species that are not effective dispersers are limited when their habitat is
disrupted.
Species with narrow niche requirements may see that niche disappear quickly.
And species that live in colonies, or social groups, are often affected when
numbers decline.
When habitat is fragmented, some species die as a direct result of lost resources.
Other species survive in reduced numbers in the habitat fragments, but their
vulnerability to extinction increases.
Populations existing in fragments become susceptible to genetic
disorders, demographic problems,environmental variability,
and catastrophic events.
Fragmented populations are especially vulnerable to deterministic events, such
as susceptibility to poaching, as border areas become population sinks, where
population death rates exceed birth rates. (3)
To emphasize it once again, endemic species (those present only in a certain
geographical location) are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss.
As an example, there are many species of frogs endemic to small locations,
such as the blue poison frog,golden poison frog, and many others.

So there is no doubt that habitat loss and fragmentation are the main contributors to
animal extinction and animal endangerment.

National and International Wildlife Trade

Dodo
1626 Painting
By Roelant Savery
By: Wikimedia.org

Poaching and (legal and illegal) wildlife trade are another common threat to
animals.
But the introduction of ban and / or restrictions on international trade in many
endangered species (CITES) several decades ago became an effective measure in
halting this problem.
International wildlife trade has also been closely linked to drugs trade.
In one of the most outrageous cases of simultaneous drug and wildlife smuggling
which occurred at Miami Airport in 1993, 312 boa constrictors that arrived from
Colombia were found carrying inside them 39 kilos of cocaine. All of the snakes
eventually died. (4)

Pet Trade
One of the most shocking examples of pet trade in endangered species
took place in Taiwan at the end of the 1980s.
As a result of a TV show featuring an orangutan, the demand for this
endangered animal in Taiwan surged, and the country saw as many as a
1,000 young orangutans entering it illegally and being sold via
newspaper adverts.
The real toll was, of course, much bigger as the capture of young
animals involves killing its mother, and then many of them would have
died in transit. (5)

Fur Trade
This type of trade was very popular in the 1950s 1960s.
For example, during the late 1960s the pelts of more than 10,000
leopards, 15,000 jaguars, 3,000 cheetahs and 200,000 ocelots were
(legally) being imported in the US and Europe each year. (6)
This activity is virtually non-existent now but it would have contributed
to animal demise during its peak period.

Bushmeat Trade

The trade in bushmeat (consumption of meat of wild animals for food)

in central Africa is the main source of income for rural residents.
Its been estimated that hunting for bushmeat may now even outrank
habitat loss as a threat to rainforest animals in Africa. (7)
However, consumption of bushmeat (especially that of primates) not
only contributes to animal extinction but has also been linked to various
diseases, specifically AIDS (i.e. transmission of AIDS-related viruses
from bushmeat to humans). (8)

Body Parts Trade

It is not clear how significantly this type of activity contributes to animal
extinction.
But its clear that there is still demand in South East Asian countries
(such as China) for body parts of some endangered animals (such as
the tiger), which are used in traditional medicine and as aphrodisiacs.
(9)

Trade for Biomedical Research

Almost all biomedical research is done in industrialised countries which
were the main importers of animals (specifically, primates) for these
purposes during 1950s 1960s.
It is estimated that the number of chimpanzees alone, exported for
biomedical research, was between 40,000 and 90,000 from the late
1960s to the late 1980s. (10)
For comparison, the total present wild population of chimpanzees is no
more than 150,000 across all of Africa. (11)

Until this day, many companies still perform animal testing for
biomedical research purposes.
One way to show your protest against animal testing is not to
put your money in these companies.
As an alternative, we now have an option to invest in socially
responsible mutual funds (aslo called ethical funds) many of
which have policies of non-investment in animal testing
companies.
You can read more about socially responsible investing here.

Other Causes

Other causes are not related to the immediate human demand for animals or their
habitats resources.
But they are still initiated by human actions.

Climate change / Global warming

It has been recently suggested that warmer global temperatures may
be affecting animals in different ways.
In fact, global warming is predicted to put at least 20-30% of plant and
animal species at rist of extinction, and up to 40-70% in worst case
scenarios.
Learn more about global warming effects on biodiversity and animals here.
As an example, frogs are an especially vulnerable species.
The climate warming has been suggested as a possible cause for the
disappearance of the golden toad in Costa Rica.

Pollution
Environmental pollution which in many ways causes global warming, is
another cause for animal demise.
Yet again, tropical frogs may be seriously affected by pollution of their
habitats.

Introduced (Invasive) Species

Invasive species introduced to biodiversity rich areas damage habitats
of native species and destroy their safe existence.
A good example of that is that of Galapagos tortoises.
During the 20th century, goats introduced to the Galapagos Islands fed
on the tortoises food supply, and pigs, dogs and rats ate tortoise eggs.
As a result, tortoise numbers went dramatically down. (12)

Farmer / Rancher Shootings

Ranchers may shoot wild animals on spot when they feel that they
attack domestic sheep and thus destroy ranchers livelihoods.
This happens quite often with jaguars and was the main cause of the
Tasmanian tigers extinction.

Animal Extinction: Final Words

To prevent animal extinction and animal endangerment in the future, we should

certainly learn the lessons of the past and try to eliminate as many causes of animal
demise as only possible.
The exploitation of natural resources that often leads to animal extinction is closely
linked to economic progress of the countries where this process occurs.
We should strive to find the right balance between human and animal welfare that is
the only way forward towards harmony of man and nature.
References for this article

Written by:

Irina Gray of Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com

Publication Date:

January 2008

Further Reading About Endangered Animals

Endangered Animals Biodiversity Loss Orangutan Morpho Butterflies Conservation
Endangered Gorillas Gorilla Conservation
Back from Animal Extinction to Tropical Rainforest Animals