PRESIDENCY UNIVERSITY

NAME : SAYAN LODH

UG – 1 SEMESTER – 2

REGISTRATION NUMBER - 17106110022

ROLL NUMBER – 022

PAPER CODE – BIOS0231

TOPIC - SAFEGUARDING AND PRESERVING THE ENDANGERED

ABSTRACT

The world is an enchanting place profuse with wildlife, about 5 million to 100 million.
However, we Humans, through our reckless activities of destruction have reduced the
number of diverse species available to great extent. Due to our greed many species like
the Dodo, the Quagga ( a type of Zebra ), even our fellow Neanderthal Man are extinct
and others like the Rhino and Hippo are endangered. The topic is “ Safeguarding and
Preserving the Endangered ”. This assignment is aimed at presenting a glimpse of a few
endangered species along with the threats to their existence and conservation efforts. The
Paper begins with a general idea about wildlife conservation. The research focusses on
the Blue Whale, the Hippopotamus, the Rhinoceros, the Texas Wild Rice and the Giant
Ibis. It concludes with the need for wildlife conservation and the role of World Wildlife
Fund (WWF ) in it. The Paper includes both the primary and secondary sources and is
open to different interpretations for the readers.
INTRODUCTION

Conservation is the act of using and protecting resources properly. Whereas, wildlife
includes all the flora and fauna, which are not domesticated by humans. It includes
animals, plants and micro-organisms.
The destruction of habitats owning to agriculture, large scale deforestation, disturbance
due to introduction of foreign species of birds, animals, and humans, and illegal
poaching are the main causes for the extinction
Wildlife conservation is the attempt to protect endangered animal and plant species,
along with their natural habitat. The main
objective is to make sure that their habitats
will be preserved so that the future generations
of both wildlife and human can enjoy it. The
forests exist in a very delicate ecological
balance where the health of a forest depends
on the health of every member that is a part
of its food chain. For instance, there is a wide
diversity of species living in a tropical rain
forest.TASMANIAN
If any species
WOLF
should become extinct,
the food chain will be disrupted affecting all
the species. Wildlife conservation has become
Courtesy-http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_taswolf.htm

an increasingly important practice due to the

negative effects of human activity on wildlife.
An endangered species is defined as a population of a living species that is in the
danger of becoming extinct because the species has a very low or falling population, or
because they are threatened by the varying environmental or prepositional parameters. If
not checked properly in the nick of time, the endangered species can soon be extinct.
These endangered species would then join the American Buffalo, Tasmanian Wolf, Javan
Tiger, Dodo, and Neanderthal man in the list of extinct species. The prime cause for the
extinction of them are sadly us - the Humans.
BLUE WHALE

Blue Whale ( scientific name – Baleonoptera musculus ) is the largest mammal known to
have ever existed. It weighs about 200 tons – approximately the weight of 33 elephants.
They are also the loudest animals with their calls reaching upto 188 decibels, even
louder than a jet engine. At the top of the food chain the whales play a vital role in
the overall health of the environment.
During the 20th Century, the Blue Whale was an important whaling target. In 1996, it
was protected and commercial whaling was declared illegal. Like other large whales, blue
whales are threatened by overfishing of krill, sound and water pollution and
environmental change including habitat loss, climate change, acidification of water and
toxins. Blue whales have also been harmed by ship strikes. They also become entangled
in fishing gear. Although commercial whaling is no longer a threat, climate change and
its impact on krill (shrimp-like crustaceans), Blue Whales' major prey, makes it particularly
vulnerable.1
Now their population is about 1% of the
original. It dipped as low as 0.15%. At
present there are about at 10000 to
25000. The Blue Whale is listed under
the  Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 ( EPBC Act ) as endangered. In 2005,
the Australian Government released the
first joint recovery plan for blue whales.
A review into the blue whale recovery
BLUE
plan WHALE
was conducted in 2010, and it was
determined that a recovery plan for blue
Courtesy-https://www.earth.com/news/whales-right-handed/
whales was still required and that the
plan should be updated. The new recovery plan, the Blue Whale Conservation
Management Plan, is aligned with the format of the International Whaling Commission's '
Conservation Management Plan ' framework, while still meeting all of the requirements of
a recovery plan under the  EPBC  Act.
Gulf of Corcovado in Southern Chile is an important feeding area for blue whales. The
World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) is undertaking many proactive measures to protect the blue
whales in the Gulf of Corcovado.

1
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/blue-whale
HIPPOPOTAMUS

Hippopotamus ( scientific name - Hippopotamus amphibious ), ( common Hippo ) is a large,

mostly herbivorous, semi – aquatic mammal native to sub – Saharan Africa. There is
another smaller variety of Hippo called Pygmy Hippo. Common hippos are recognizable
by their barrel – shaped torsos, wide – opening mouths revealing large canine tusks, nearly
hairless bodies, columnar legs and large size; adults average 1,500  kg and 1,300 kg for
males and females respectively. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of
running 30  km/h over short distances.
Since 2006 the Hippo has been on the list of vulnerable species. The major threat to
Hippos include habitat loss due to deforestation, contamination of waterbodies or
degradation and illegal hunting or
poaching for meat and ivory canines.2
Hundreds of Hippos are also shot each
year to minimize human – animal
conflicts, and also for obtaining the fat,
meat and the valuable ivory from the
Hippos. As human populations grow,
they encroach on wildlife habitats as they
build new settlements, increase agricultural
production, and construct new roads. The
hippo once roamed from the Nile Delta
HIPPOPOTAMUS
to the Cape, but now it is mostly
confined to protected areas. Also Courtesy-
environmental changes like global http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/hippos/images/24491034/title/hippo
-wallpaper-wallpaper
warming has led to reduction in rainfall
and other sources of water, increasing
the misery of Hippos.
Many efforts have been undertaken by the African Wildlife Foundation to protect the
Hippo. It helps in the construction of ditches and fences near farmlands to reduce
human – wildlife conflicts. It strengthens and protects Hippo’s habitat by funding and
improving infrastructure of parks like the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia.
There are numerous protected areas across the countries where Hippos are found.
Although in most countries the official level of protection is good, the level of
enforcement of these regulations is poor in many countries. In some countries, Hippos
are still found outside of protected areas. It is extremely expensive to house the Hippo in
captivity. It is also very dangerous to take one out of the wild and place them into
captivity.
In order to prevent the Hippo from becoming extinct, then we have to take steps to
protect them. This includes protecting their natural environment and preventing poaching
efforts. In 2006 studies show that there is a 20% reduction of Hippos from 1996. 

2
http://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus
RHINOCEROS

Rhinoceros ( scientific family name – Rhinocerotidae ), often abbreviated as Rhino, is of

mainly five types – Javan Rhino, Sumatran Rhino, Greater One – Horned Rhino, Black
Rhino, and White Rhino. Rhinoceros are known for their horns. Out of them the
Sumatran Rhino and Javan Rhino are most endangered. The Indian or Greater One –
Horned Rhino is the largest Rhino. It can run at speeds of 40 km/h for short distances,
and is an excellent swimmer.
The threats to Rhinos include habitat loss due to deforestation, flood and climate change;
political conflict; and poaching for Rhino
horns. In current times their numbers has
reduced drastically due to illegal poaching for
their horns which is prized in many Asian
countries due to superstitions that it possesses
miraculous medicinal properties. The Rhino
horn is also used for making jambiya ( a kind
of sword ) in Yemen. The Rhino horn is also
used as a status symbol to display someone’s
power and wealth. Today very few Rhinos
GREATER ONE – HORNED RHINO
survive outside protected areas.

Courtesy- The Indian and Nepalese governments have

taken major steps towards the conservation of
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/One_ho
rned_Rhino.jpg Rhino in collaboration with World Wildlife
Fund (WWF ). The Indian Rhino Vision 2020
( IRV 2020 ) , is a partnership among the Government of Assam, the International Rhino
Foundation, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Bodoland Territorial Council and the
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service that aims to attain a population of 5000 Rhinos in seven
of Assam’s protected areas by 2020. Asian Rhino Project ( ARP ), Australia is supporting
the Aaranyak Project in Assam. All these conservation projects include Anti – poaching
campaigns, Monitoring, Environmental education, Demand reduction, Community
conservation, Translocation, Capacity building, and Captive breeding in common.
At present there are about 25,000 Rhinos left in the world. Rhinos are listed as
vulnerable species. They are regionally extinct in Pakistan.
TEXAS WILD RICE

Texas Wild Rice ( scientific name – Zizania texana ), is a rare species of grass endemic to
Texas, where it is found only on the upper San Marcos River in Hays County. It is a
member of the same family as the commercially sold white rice. It is an aquatic plant
that grows in freshwater with only it’s stem rising above the surface. It has ribbon – like
leaves. Recently it has become an endangered specie. The plant is also unable to
reproduce rapidly due to it’s weak pollens.
The construction of Spring Lake Dam combined with other agricultural and industrial
activities has resulted in a reduction in the flow of water to the San Marcos River. The
rare plant is threatened now by recreational activities on the river, and by Nutria or
Coypu, an introduced mammal. Stems are broken, bent, or submerged by floating debris,
including masses of vegetation mowed upstream
and sent floating.
A Conservation Crew along with other
organisations has been created under the Habitat
Conservation Plan to protect and conserve the
Texas Wild Rice. Through combined efforts of
these organizations, approximately 14,000 Texas
wild rice plants have been planted over the past
three years. The Conservation Crew works on
the SanTEXAS
MarcosWILD river
RICE eight hours per day and
seven days per week, monitoring wildlife and
Courtesy-https://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/16/barriers-
the people using the river. The Conservation
placed-san-marcos-river-protect-wild-ric/
Crew harvests tillers, parts of the plant that
can be grown into clones of the plant it originated from.3
The successful growth of the endemic Texas wild rice is having positive effects on other
endangered wildlife in the river. Endangered fish and the San Marcos salamander have
been using the wild rice as a sanctuary. Although the wild rice’s early success is
encouraging, more work is needed to ensure the future of the endangered plant.

GIANT IBIS
3
https://star.txstate.edu/2015/12/20/conservation-crew-works-to-restore-and-conserve-native-species-in-san-
marcos-river/
The Giant Ibis ( scientific name - Thaumatibis gigantea ) has been declared the most
endangered and evolutionarily distinctive bird in the world. The Giant Ibis is native to
Cambodia, with a very sparse presence in Vietnam and Laos. They stand around a metre
tall and weigh over 4 kg, and carry a dusty brown hue across their plumage and
exposed skin. It’s habitat is in lowland deciduous forests.
The primary threats are the drainage of wetlands for cultivation and the epidemic cutting
down of forests for rubber, cassava, wood pulp
and teak plantations in South – East Asia.
Habitats are also face destroyed due to local
human warfare. Increasing human population in
Cambodia have in turn led to a disturbance and
further lowland deforestation. The Ibis is also
hunted for meat by people. Local droughts,
possibly related to global climate change, have
appeared to have further compromised the
GIANT IBIS breeding habitat and behaviour of the species.

Courtesy- World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) in collaboration

with the Cambodian government is working to
https://allanmichaud.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/bombs-
and-birds/
protect the species, Cambodia's National Bird,
and restore it’s population. With a local partner,
Sansom Mlup Prey ( SMP ), they have developed a wildlife - friendly rice product named
Ibis Rice, for which farmers get paid a premium for protecting forest that is vital to the
Giant Ibis. Meanwhile, communities receive additional income from an ecotourism
initiative in which birdwatchers who see the Giant Ibis contribute to a community fund.4
Next to nothing is known about their breeding habits, and it’s estimated that just over
100 breeding pairs are left in the wild.

CONCLUSION

4
https://www.wcs.org/our-work/species/giant-ibis
Saving nature is at the very heart of the objectives of the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ).
For more than 50 years, WWF has made it their mission to find solutions that save the
marvelous array of life on our planet by applying the best science available and working
closely with local communities.
Humans are the main cause behind the current rate of species extinction, which is at
least 100 – 1,000 times higher than nature intended. WWF’s
2016 Living Planet Report found global populations of fish,
birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58%
between 1970 and 2012.
And the impacts will reach far beyond the potential cultural
loss of iconic species like tigers, rhinos and whales. The good
news is that WWF has been part of successful wildlife
recovery stories ranging from southern Africa’s black rhino to
black bucks in the Himalayas. This inWWF turnLOGOis helping to
– A GIANT PANDA
protect the rich and varied ecosystems, while ensuring people
Courtesy-
continue to benefit from nature. http://www.adweek.com/creativity/g
rey-london-wants-change-wwf-logo-
The message is clear : we cannot afford to fail in our
panda-disappearing-polar-bear-
mission to save a living planet. By protecting species, we
175070/

also protect the essential goods and services that make our
lives possible and contribute enormously to human health and well – being — breathable
air, clean water, food, fibers, building materials, medicines, energy, fertile soils, climate
regulation, transport, and recreational and spiritual values.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/blue-whale

http://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus

https://star.txstate.edu/2015/12/20/conservation-crew-works-to-restore-and-conserve-native-species-
in-san-marcos-river/

https://www.wcs.org/our-work/species/giant-ibis