Endangered Animals

If an animal species goes endangered I would do as much as I could to save it. Sadly, scientists believe that for some animals it’s too late ex. Hawksbill turtle. The Hawksbill turtle is critically endangered because it has almost been hunted to extinction for it’s “tortoiseshell.” Tourists are another reason: they step on nests, step on babies while they're on their way to the water, and if babies fall into a sand castle they dry up. Usually only one of one thousand turtles survives. The Black soft shelled turtle, on the other hand, live in one pond by a religious shrine in Bangladesh. The remaining 400 turtles survive on food given to them by the visitors. To rescue the species scientists are trying to protect the turtles from disease.

Now, if an animal is extinct, that doesn't always mean it doesn’t exist any more. It just means it doesn’t exist in the wild. The Przewalski’s horse can only be found in captivity. It is much smaller than other horses. The last time it has been seen in the wild was in 1968. The remaining 1200 horses can be found in zoos, private preserves, and protected areas in Mongolia. Some groups of captive-bred horses have been released in the wild. Another extinct animal is the Quagga. It does not live in captivity. It was believed to be a separate breed that was hunted to extinction. Recent DNA tests prove the Quagga was actually a brown and white plains zebra. Some zoos and nature reserves produced a Quagga-like creature that will soon be reintroduced into the the wild.

Rabbits and Hares are also endangered for example the Amami rabbit, the Volcano rabbit, and the Hispid hare. The Amami rabbit is threatened because of habitat destruction. it is found on two islands. Only 2000 remain. The Japanese protect the rabbit and call it a “natural monument.” You can only find the Volcano rabbit in pine forests near the peaks of several volcanoes near Mexico City. Its fur blends in well with the volcanic soil. This area is now under pressure from logging and overgrazing from sheep. The Hispid hare is one of the world’s rarest mammals and was once thought to be extinct. Today 100 live in the southeastern Himalayan foothills. The future of the Hispid hare will be threatened by habitat destruction and hunting.

An animal that’s at lower risk is the Andean mountain cat, it is a solitary animal that lives in the central Andes. This cat is much more sensitive to sound than any other cat. It’s considered endangered for its rarity. Another animal that is considered endangered for its rarity is the Night parrot but unlike the Andean cat it is so rare that it is critically endangered. The Night parrot is so rare that in the last 100 years it has only been sighted a few times (about once every 10 years) Sightings even get reported in newspapers. It is not clear how many are scattered across the Australian outback-probably 50 or less. Farming and introducing predators such as cats and dogs have reduced the number of Night parrots. Another parrot that is critically endangered is the Kakapo, a  flightless parrot  that is found in New Zealand. It didn’t have any natural predators until human settlers introduced cats, rats, and dogs which caused a big decline in the Kakapo population. A captive breeding program has saved the species. The remaining 62 birds have been released on three predator free islands.

A critically endangered animal that doesn't live far from here is the Black footed ferret. The Black footed ferret once lived in the Rockies and Great Plains, where it was a predator to prairie dogs. When the prairie dog almost got extinct, for farmers saw them as pests, the Black footed ferret was thought to be extinct, until 1981 when a small group of ferrets was discovered in Wyoming. This species was saved by this population and the captive breeding program.

The Ocelot is a medium sized forest predator that lives in the tropical rainforest of South America in the 20th century millions of these cats were killed for their fur until an international treaty protected the Ocelot. But it is still threatened by habitat destruction.

Even my two favorite animals are endangered: the Giant panda, and the Lesser panda. The Giant panda is and has always been a rare animal. It lives in the mountain forests of central China. This bear-like animal has almost been hunted to extinction for its fur. Habitat destruction has also threatened them. Although there are laws to protect them, there are about 1000 left in the wild. The Lesser or red panda is related to the racoon. It lives in forests in the Himalayan foothills. It eats mainly bamboo leaves like a distant relative the Giant panda. Environmental changes threaten the Lesser panda. Captive-bred pandas have been released back in the wild.

The most important way to win the fight to save endangered species is education. The more people understand, the easier it is for us to save them.

(I got most of my facts from the endangered animals dictionary.)


-Do you think that it is important to save endangered animals, why or why not?

-Do you know of any endangered animals?

-What do you think you can do to save endangered species?

~Pandaeins