ANIMALS IN DANGER

Стефани Мижимаковска, Бојана Михајлова

Wolly Mammoth
◦ The last of the Great Woolly Mammoth populations
vanished near the end of the last Ice Age over
4,000 years ago. These incredible creatures carried
tusks that could measure up to 15 feet long. And
imagine- they are considered one of the smallest
among their specie. The mammoth lived on birch
and was hunted for meat and fur. The hunting of
the last surviving woolly mammoths greatly
contributed to their decline and extinction. With the
decline in mammoths, birch forests, known for
being high sunlight absorbers, multiplied and
helped melt away the Ice Age, taking the woolly
mammoth with it.
Caspian Tigers
◦ Tigers were first put on the endangered species list
in the 1960’s, but trophy hunting and fur trade has
continued despite the heightened risk of extinction.
The Caspian tiger specie had been pretty well wiped
out at the beginning of the 20th century, when the
Russian government was setting up rice and cotton
fields in forests these tigers inhabited. The army
was ordered to exterminate all tigers found near the
Caspian sea. The Caspian tiger, a sub-specie of the
Siberian tiger, went extinct sometime between
1954-1959 and while there have been a few reported
sightings, one in the 1970s and another in 1997,
these claims have never been confirmed.
American Crocodiles
◦ Humans have long hunted crocodiles for
their valuable skins used to make shoes,
belts, bags and more. From the 1950s to the
late 1960s excessive hunting rendered the
American croc endangered. Recently, things
took a turn for the better. In 2003 the
nonprofit World Conservation Union
reclassified the sharp-toothed reptile from
'endangered' to ‘threatened’. This means
there has been enough population recovery
to sustain the croc population, however this
does not make them fully immune to threats.
Flying fox
◦ The flying fox (a bat of the genus Pteropus)
is the largest species of bat in the world, with
a wingspan of up to 6 feet! Like many
species native to the Pacific, it is threatened
with extinction because it is over-hunted for
its meat (which is considered a delicacy),
medicinal purposes (it’s meat is believed to
help cure asthma) and just for sport.
Great White Sharks
◦ Shark fin (the main ingredient in shark fin
soup) is another prized delicacy which has
unfortunately led to a serious decline in the
number of great whites. Great white sharks are
the largest predatory fish on Earth but these
giant sea creatures are victims of "finning" by
fisherman, essentially, stripping the fins from
the shark then tossing them back in the water
to die or be eaten alive. The practice has been
declared illegal in several countries including
Brazil, South Africa and the USA but it
remains widespread and largely unmonitored.
Muskox
◦ The muskox nearly became extinct because
of over-hunting throughout the late 1900s
until the 1930s. Fortunately, population
recovery has taken place thanks to hunting
regulations. Muskox are hunted for their
hides, for food and for trophies- but they are
run away from for their pungent musky
smell. Like a friendly adrenaline snot
warning, this smell gets emitted from a gland
in their noses when getting ready to charge
and attack. The smell also attracts females
during mating season.
Polar Bears
◦ Polar Bears have become endangered in
large part because of global warming and
climate change in the Arctic. Two thirds of
the population of polar bears may vanish due
to such a polar shift in weather conditions.
Excessive hunting for their precious hides,
meat, fat and flesh have also helped
significantly reduce their numbers. Estimates
by scientists researching polar bears and
arctic habitat suggest there might be 20,000-
25,000 polar bears remaining.
Black Rhino
◦ This is another example of the extent to
which large animals are in a situation of
almost complete extinction today. There
are less than 6,000 members of this
species in the wild, and their horns have
been cut off preventively to prevent
poaching.
Electric Fish
◦ This shark-connected fish is capable of
generating an electric field of up to 230
volts around it. The few remaining
specimens of this spice live spreading to
the marine areas of the American Atlantic.
Iberian Lynx
◦ This species of lynx lives only in various
parts of southeastern Spain and Portugal.
The main person responsible for their
disappearance is the destruction of their
habitat caused by the construction of roads
without safe crossings.