Extinction
Extinction is a tragedy of monumental proportions. One of the greatest concerns that man faces now is the extinction of many species in the world.
This does not just apply to animals but plants, birds, fishes and so much more. But the question is; why are we so surprised, for we did that ourselves, didn’t we?
For hundreds of years elephants, rhinoceroses and deer have been hunted just for their tusks. Many an elephant carcass had been seen abandoned and dead with only the tusk taken from the elephant. Humans did that, they killed a huge beautiful elephant just so that they could take the tusks.On the other hand, there are people who encourage these killers even
Beautiful Pandas only eat bamboo
while they have not come out of the comfort of their homes, by buying products made from these tusks for exorbitant prices. Bears are facing extinction due to global warming, and so are penguins. As for pandas, most of them are living in zoos now in an attempt to save the remaining ones and help them procreate.
And that does not apply just to elephants, or animals with tusks, but there are animals that are hunted just for the pleasure of the hunt or for the fur.
Extinction affecting Tiger
- Tiger – this beautiful, glorious creature, the largest feline on the planet – has been poached for its fur, its habitat invaded – it has diminished by as much as 60% and has completely disappeared from the Caspian Sea, Java, Bali, and in South China is only alive in zoos.
- Cheetah – Its fate is the same as that of the tiger and is in danger of extinction since many species are already extinct.
- Baulan Turtle and Leatherback Turtle – These turtles are hunted for their shell meat and eggs and even though they have been on the planet for 150 million years they may not survive the effect of humans.
- Sumatran Orangutan – can only be found in Borneo and Sumatra but in the last 50 years these countries have lost more than half their tropical forests. That has been done in favor of palm plantations for the palm oil industries and they consider the Orangutan as an enemy of their crops and kill them mercilessly.
- Irrawaddy River Dolphin – is a sweet water inhabitant in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia. They die because of the elevated salinity of the water and the short lifespan of the offspring. Of course, fishing methods are not a help for these lovely creatures.
- Vaquita porpoise – these are small beautiful creatures that only live in the Gulf of Mexico. Their habitat is very small and at the same time fishing with nets is an execution process for the Porpoise and it does not exist anywhere else in the world.
- Mountain Gorilla – you would think such a huge creature would be immune to human intervention. The disappearance of its forest habitat due to logging companies, and poaching; have forced these animals to turn violent and killing guards. It is expected to be extinct by 2025. Let us hope that the plains gorilla is safe for the time being.
- Asian Elephant – even though ivory trade is now prohibited, it is still practiced in the black market. Deforestation of their habitat remains as the primary factor for their endangerment.
- Red Tuna – had been quite plentiful till the 60s but their population has diminished by as much as 85% simply due to overfishing and the sushi boom that has targeted this fish.
To top them all
- Javan Rhinoceros – there is nothing much to say as it is known that it is hunted for its tusks for decoration purposes. The result is that there are only about 29 of this species as of 2012 in Java Indonesia – their main habitat.
Extinction seems to be a farfetched topic for most of us, but the problem is that all creatures combine to create a harmonious environment where the food chain is stable – for humans as well as animals. These are not the only endangered species but the top most endangered ones for which we hope that the sustainability measures taken can be of help.
We have already lost to extinction some beautiful creatures such as Irish Elk, great auk (like present day Penguin) – hunted for its beautiful downy fur, Pinta Island Tortoise – the last of its kind died in 2012 after failed attempts to mate it with other tortoises, Tasmanian tiger, among others.
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