Elephants continue to be victims of poachers despite their status as an endangered species.
An endangered species is a group of plants or animals that are now so few in number that they are in danger of extinction. Without legislative protection, most endangered species will no longer be present on Earth. Since widespread industrialization in the 19th century, the rate of animal extinction has increased significantly on every continent. Animals and plants can become endangered species due to chemical pollutants, habitat destruction, or overhunting.
Animals like chinchillas are endangered because they are hunted for fur coats.
It is a mistake to assume that all the animals that became endangered species did so because of Westernization. Some researchers theorize, for example, that the buffalo, which quickly became extinct after Europeans colonized the Americas, became extinct due to overhunting by Native Americans. Although colonization hastened the death of buffalo, the increase in the Native American population may have had the same effect.
This theory gains momentum when applied to the woolly mammoth. The mammoth is believed to have become strictly extinct due to overhunting. No use of chemicals or industrialization resulted in extinction, but population growth did.
It is estimated that 97% of wild tigers have died since the beginning of the 20th century.
Still, conservationists make it abundantly clear that since industrialization, more animal and plant populations are in danger than ever before. With an alarming number of species facing extinction, conservationists believe the survival of all creatures has become more dangerous. Extinction causes disruption of the natural order. A dying predator, for example, causes an overpopulation of prey. Killing prey reduces predators. The ripple effect caused by the loss of a species can affect everything in the environment, from plants to animals.
Manatees are in danger because they are often killed in boating accidents.
The term endangered species can also be a legal term. In the early 1970s, the United States passed the Endangered Species Act. Not all endangered plants and animals automatically appear on the list. Environmentalists must request that a species be considered endangered, and even then this may not result in an endangered species classification, even if the organism is endangered.
This law was an important piece of legislation, but environmentalists have often criticized it for putting the burden of protection on individuals rather than the government. The law may declare a protected species and limit building, hunting, fishing in certain areas, or specify habitat development. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t go far enough to gain compliance from individuals or corporations.
In the United States alone, there are more than 2,500 legally listed endangered species, including more than 300 species listed in California and Florida. The impact of losing so many species from a continent is incalculable. When protection works, species can be downgraded to endangered status. The United States and other countries have done much to protect some species, but not all have recovered from endangered status.
In some cases, numbers have so far shrunk, so the available population simply cannot recover. The zoo’s programs offer some assistance through the breeding of animals in captivity. However, captive-bred animals often do not know how to behave in the wild and cannot be reintroduced even in protected areas. Even with protection, the dangers of poachers in some parts of the world pose a significant threat to endangered species. This is particularly true for the big cats of Asia and Africa, as well as elephants on both continents that are still illegally killed for ivory.
With increased caution, some endangered species are expected to recover. Many will not. Environmentalists warn that the speed with which most people lead their lives could ultimately result in our own extinction as we reduce biological choices on our planet.