As humans our population is increasing at a very rapid pace. Human interference with the natural wildlife is skyrocketing the rate of extinction for the animals that we coexist with. As more and more humans are born the more territory is required in order to live a comfortable life, but it seems that we are not aware of how our expansions throughout the world is affecting the lives of the native species. We jeopardize the lives of these animals when we recklessly flatten the surrounding land and drive the living animals out of their natural habitats. When we feel the need to acquire more territory in order to create a suitable place to live on, we destroy the already occupied land of the native species thus driving the rate of extinction to increase. The occupation of the animals’ native soil forces the animals to leave the area in hopes of adapting to another piece of land. For some this adaptation is simply impossible and the species begin to die off. In an article on Treehugger.com the author states, “Thanks to human development and expansion, species are now going extinct exponentially faster than ever before- they’re dying out at the frightening speed of one thousand times their natural rate (Merchant 1). As we are busting around making these “developments”, we pollute the natural landscape with petroleum products, pesticides, and other chemicals. When this happens we endanger the living species and speed up the process of extinction because of our interference with the local wildlife. While our population continues to grow, so does the amount of waste we produce. Due to the fact that there are so many humans, a majority of the waste we produce do not get disposed of properly and it eventually ends up contaminating the la... ... middle of paper ... ...lled by poachers. Even the White Rhino population was hit hard because of poachers seeking their priceless horns. The Los Angeles Times reported that,” The world’s largest surviving population of white rhinos suffered its heaviest toll on record last year when poachers killed more than one- thousand of the threatened animals to feed an international market for trinkets and potions made from their horns” (Williams 1). According to the WWF, The population of the White Rhino has diminished to a mere twenty- thousand. The worst part is the rare tusks are being used for the most unbelievably useless products. The number of White Rhinos are so scarce that even the killing of one- thousand is a huge blow to the delicate and slowly increasing population. It is truly disappointing that such a majestic species is being sacrificed due to the high demand of their rare tusks.
“Many airlines now ban shipments of African “Big Five wildlife trophies. Celebrities around the world, as well as the media, are condemning the illegal killing of animals for sport. The United Nations has also spoken out in a historic resolution on wildlife trafficking by the U.N. General Assembly that “strongly encouraged governments to commit to targeted actions to eradicate supply, transit and demand for illegal wildlife products” (Source 4). Countries, media, and celebrities are now discouraging the illegal killing of large game and urges the governments of many countries to enact laws to stop the black market distribution of these predators. It is important to prohibit illegal trophies and to enforce these laws with punishments and fines to remove species from the endangered species list and stop extinctions. Stricter laws and regulations can protect and save entire species from ceasing to exist. “Just months after the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History accepted a $20 million donation from big-game hunter Kenneth Behring, the Institution sought a FWS permit to import the trophy remains of two endangered wild sheep that Behring shot in Central Asia…After a storm of ugly publicity, the Smithsonian abandoned the permit application” (Source 1). The case of the Smithsonian Museum attempting to import two endangered sheep is just one
Through millions of years of evolution, well-balanced habitats have co-evolved to provide for the wide variety of species and their needs. Trees have adapted to weeds, weeds have adapted to the predation from herbivores, and so on up the food chain. Similar scenarios are seen throughout the world. Through the process of natural selection, specific species or broad species families will go extinct. However, these occurrences have largely been due to the natural flow and evolution of time. It wasn’t until recently that dominant species, such as humans, have taken the course of nature into their own hands.
Elephants are an endangered species and they should not be killed for their ivory or they will become extinct. In the article The Poaching Problem the author writes” elephant populations have declined to dangerously low levels.” At the rate that poachers are killing these innocent animal the entire species of elephants will be extinct in the year 2030! That is only twenty five years, I know that does not seem like a long time but it is going to go by fast and every one will regret killing all those poor innocent gentle creatures. In case study 483 they author writes “ During the 1970s and 1980s elephant poaching had included about 1.3 million elephants killed for their tusks.” It is hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory so it is sold easily.
Modern-day genetic technology has granted mankind with the opportunity to bring back extinct species from the dead. If humans have come to possess the DNA from an extinct animal population, it is possible to create an identical clone of the animal in question, effectively “bringing it back from the dead”. Many ethical dilemmas surround the practice of de-extinction, and rightfully so. Recreating an extinct species could produce groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs, generating exciting opportunities for future genetics-based research. However, there could also be monumental consequences: the newly revived, once-extinct species might destroy the ecological equilibrium of modern Earth
Humans are destructive. Not a lot of us think about how what we do affects the world around us. We almost act like we are the only ones on this planet. We go around polluting and destroying our world with no regard for our actions. The things that live out in the wild are paying the price for it. Every day that passes there is another animal or plant that is placed on an endangered list. This is happening at an alarming rate. Because of man’s desire to expand and conquer their surroundings, there are animals and plants that are on the brink of extinction that will not be around for our kids and future generations to enjoy if something is not done about it now. This problem has been going on for hundreds of years. There are animals and plants that can only been seen in paintings or early photography. It is because of our early ancestors that we have this problem today and we have to do more to prevent more animals and plants from disappearing forever.
In this new age of technology and advances in every possible field of study, many people forget about the environment. Some will just throw their trash all over the place with no concern for the possible consequences. Of course, there are many consequences, but only one comes to my mind. That is the demolition of species’ homes or habitat destruction. Habitat destruction or habitat loss is the altering or elimination of the conditions that plants and animals need to survive. “The primary threat to the world’s biodiversity is habitat destruction” (Okey p.1). Prairies have been greatly affected. The “loss of prairie habitat ranges from 20 to >99 percent depending on the region” (Benedict, Freeman, & Genoways, p.161). Habitat destruction can be caused by many things. These include:
Increased human population also affects animals and their habitats. If these habitats are not managed, native fauna risk extinction. Threats to
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”).
Poaching is making the African elephants go to a dangerously low number. The estimated amount of elephants left is as low as 32,000 in Africa. Another animal group that is being affected by poaching are the African Rhinos. The valuable attachment that the poachers want was the black rhino’s horn. People are seeking the horn because if used properly it can be used for medicine such as recovery from fevers and other illnesses.
Many of the issues of biodiversity loss can be traced back to human interaction to the environment. One of the issues is alteration and loss of habitats. A lot of this issue is based on the destruction of habitats and for the land to be used for human consumption. The land is either used up for agricultural use or for neighborhoods. Destroying habitats and building them for our own use can have a positive impact on our way of living but a negative impact on the environment. We would gain land for building land for crops and communities to be built. The habitat for the animals would be destroyed and the species local to the land would either relocate or die. There are restrictions to deforesting land and there are organizations to help protect the land.
Everyone’s all seen those wildlife shows on tv. The shows on National Geographic and such, showing animals in beautiful environments, everything lush and growing and nothing at all wrong that could threaten these creatures and places. But, have anyone seen the other side? The side where all these beautiful creatures and plants starve, are decimated by predators that have never been there before, and sometime even become poisoned by their very own homes and habitats? Of course no one has. That doesn’t mean that its not happening. It is happening, and its happening everywhere. And guess who is to blame? People. Society. Humans as a race pollute the environment, hunt animals simply for their parts, fish way more than humans will ever need just for the sake of money, introduce new species to new places for our own gain, and even purposefully destroy entire regions just for human expansion. And its starting to take its toll. While it is true that nature is constantly in flux and certain species come and go, humans are causing more species to disappear in the past few hundred years then nature has ever caused since the age of the dinosaurs, and therefore it is up to humans to repair the damage caused, be it cleaning the environment and habitats of these creatures, or taking more direct action to protect and preserve the species that are on the brink of extinction.
Humans are the source of the pollution and refuse build up. “Litter in the world’s oceans comes from many sources, including containers that fall
Some main causes of Endangerment are habitat loss, pollution, hunting, competition from non-native plants and animals, plant collecting, logging, clearing forests, and trading animal parts. The growing population also causes some effect because man cause most problems. Diseases or viruses are al...
In our world today we have approximately 26,021 endangered species. Endangered species are organisms that may possible become extinct. The term 'endangered species' refers to all species that fits this description. However some conservation biologists and scientists normally use the term ‘endangered species’ to refer to species that are put on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature)Red List. Many factors can be looked at when considering the conservation status of a species. Factors such as human threats or environmental threats can cause a species to become endangered.
Unfortunately, we are possibly undergoing “the greatest percentage loss of elephants in history” (Ruggiero). Without the proper conservation of elephant survival, we will see a drastic shift in the environment. Due to lack of the lack of management and resources in the conservation programs has led to a further increase in poaching which has triggered to drastic decline in elephant populations. According to the Huffington Post, a reputable news source, it reports, “an estimated 22,000 elephants were illegally killed across Africa in 2012”. In February alone there were as many as “650 elephants killed in a matter of days”