"Extinction of Species"

There are many endangered animals and they come in all shapes and sizes. Ninety-nine percent of the
earth’s creatures have become extinct. Just in the United States more than a dozen insects, mostly
butterflies are on the endangered species list, along with over 50 species of fish, 100 reptiles and
amphibians, and over 300 mammals. More than 1,000 species are endangered word wide, and over 100
of these endangered animals become extinct every day. There are many endangered animals and they
come in all shapes and sizes. Ninety-nine percent of the earth’s creatures have become extinct. Just in
the United States more than a dozen insects, mostly butterflies are on the endangered species list, along
with over 50 species of fish, 100 reptiles and amphibians, and over 300 mammals. More than 1,000
species are endangered word wide, and over 100 of these endangered animals become extinct every
day.

Scientists estimate that the total number of species lost to extinction each year may climb to 40,000 by
the year 2000. One of these many mammals is the tiger, which lives in temperate and habitat is being
destroyed. Some other mammals that are being overhunted for sport or for their fur are the Jaguar,
Cheetah and the Snow Leopard. They live in many parts of the world, the Cheetah is found in Africa and
India, the Jaguar in the USA and Central and South America, and the Snow Leopard in the mountains of
Central Asia. The Blue Whale is one of the many mammals that are endangered. They live in all the
oceans, but are becoming extinct because they are being over hunted for their blubber, food and for
whale oil.

The Giant Panda has a slow reproduction rate that has played a major role in the endangerment of the
panda. The Asiatic Lion that is native to Turkey and India is endangered because of overhunting and loss
of habitat. The Aye-Aye, which is a cute little animal that looks like a Gremlin with a long tale, has been
put on the endangered species list because its habitat in Madagascar is being lost. Another cute little
creature that is on the endangered species list is the Chinchilla that lives in Bolivia. If this little creature
gets wet then it will die and that is a big part of its problem. Another problem for the Chinchilla is that is
habitat is being destroyed by humans. The Mission Blue Butterfly is one of the dozen insects on the
endangered species list. It only lives in Oregon and is endangered because of habitat destruction. Most
animals become endangered because of habitat destruction and overhunting, but some become
endangered because of changes in the environment, pollution, and accidental kills.

Because most of this is cause by humans it would only be right for us to help these animals increase their
population and get them off the endangered species list. There are other reasons why we should help.
For one the animals are very important to our ecosystem and to medical research. Some animals have
special traits or properties that would benefit humans in the medical field. By finding out what these
special traits and properties are then we could find curse to some diseases or much more. They also
provide an important and crucial role in our environment and the life cycle of other animals. If animals
that feed on other animals become extinct then the other animals would overrun the land. It is also
important to keep these animals around so we can learn more about them and show younger
generations these amazing animals. If we do not keep these animals around then our whole ecosystem
could fall apart and we would be left without anything. We should also be considerate of the animals’
habitats because we must share the earth with all the creatures and it is our job to protect them and
keep them from all dying off.

We can prevent these animals from becoming endangered or extinct. Parents and kids can get involved
in these activities. There are many organizations where people can adopt endangered animals, and get
information on how to conserve their food supply and their habitat. Conducting a community awareness
survey would be a good way to let the community know that there are endangered animals in the area
and let them know how they can help with the efforts to save it. The watershed in a community is
important for the animals, so find out how the community’s activities affect the watershed. To save the
insects and birds, kids can hold a school Arbor Day and plant trees and flowers for birds and insects that
are native to their area that are endangered. Participating in river and beach clean ups is very important,
because it reduces pollution in the water that could not only kill the poor little animals but hurt humans
as well. If people would not pollute the earth in the fist place then river and beach clean ups would not
be necessary. This act prohibits endangered animals from being traded, it also penalizes anyone who
kills, sells, or transports an endangered species or anything made from an endangered species body.
There are some exceptions to this rule but not many. This act also prohibits anyone from killing, hunting,
collecting, harassing, harming, pursuing, shooting, trapping, wounding, or capturing any animals that are
endangered. This law really helps the animals because if it were not for this law then there would be
many more extinct animals. Sometimes people ignore the laws, and they will eventually get caught and
have to pay the price for killing endangered animals. One rule that is useful in protecting the habitats of
endangered animals is that no federal agency is allowed to build anything that would destroy the
endangered animals habitats.

Even though there are some exceptions to this rule it has helped tremendously. Zoos are also important
because they take in animals and show the people how cute they are and teach kids how to be kind to
the animals. When people buy souvenirs from the zoo part of the money goes to organizations that help
endangered animals. Even though the space at the zoo may not look like much the animals are better off
there than in the wild or our running free where they could get ran over or killed by some non-animal
loving person. The zoo also informs people of endangered animals and what they can do to help. There
are many animals out there that are important to us and our environment and need to be helped. There
are many people that can do stuff for these animals. Through organizations, government help, and zoos
lots is being done to help. So please be kind hearted and help save the poor little endangered animals.