The Facts on Endangered and Extinct Animals

 

Extinct Animals

If there are no animals of a particular species or subspecies in the wild, it is said to be extinct. Extinction is caused by a number of factors:

Humans - pollution, development in natural habitat, hunting and poaching, industrial and residential development

Natural events - climate change, volcanic eruptions or overbreeding

Introduced animals becoming a feral pest - cats, dogs, pigs

Destruction of natural habitat - can be caused by any of the above

Prey animals or plants becoming endangered or extinct - losing a principal part of their daily diet.

There are hopes that preservation of extinct animal DNA will one day bring them back, but until then, we are the poorer for the loss of these species.

Endangered Animals

If only a few animals of a particular species or subspecies survives in the wild, it is said to be endangered.
The same factors that cause extinction, cause endangered status among animals.

Why Does Extinction Matter?

Extinction matters because it affects biodiversity on the Earth. The extinction of one species can cause the extinction of another species; it becomes a train wreck of biodiversity, as entire habitats become extinct. We, as humans, in our turn depend on these biodiverse habitats to ensure our own survival. Conservation is not just about animals, it is about people, too.

Our generation had to grow up without ever seeing a Dodo. Do we wish our children's children to grow up never seeing a Tiger?  Do we wish to live in a world that no longer produces sufficient oxygen to breathe?