Habitat destruction, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, and poaching. These actions and ecological happenings are creating a world where animals are going extinct at rapid rates. Our world is on the brink of what scientists believe is the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the five previous mass extinction, the latest one killing a majority of the dinosaurs, the main causes for this current extinction are anthropogenic reasons, not natural events.
Scientists calculate that without humans about one to five species would die a year, which is considered the background rate of extinction. But in our current society human activities are destroying many of the chances these animals need to survive. We as a planet are killing species at a rate 1,000 to 10,000 times more than the expected rate. Unlike previous extinctions 99% of the species, listed on the endangered species list, established by the endangered species act, became threatened due to human activities, such as the introduction of invasive species, habitat destruction, and global warming (The Extinction Crisis).
What can we do to stop this? How can we save the very animals we have endangered and threatened?
The Species Survival Plan:
The AZA, Associations of Zoos and Aquariums, have set up a worldwide system to attempt to save these very threatened animals. The program is called the Species Survival Plan. As part of the species survival plan, zoos and aquariums in conjunction with AZA follow a system of rules and plans to help promote the care of these endangered animals in facilities. Each animal, out of the over 500 species AZA protects, has their own management system as set up by the various . The plans are devoted to maintaining genetically diverse populations ...
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...ears old and are ready to attempt to bring back the species. At the Turtleback zoo, the main zookeeper for the leopards Danielle agreed to be interviewed for the project. She said as part of the Species Survival Plan, each zoo equipped with the facilities to house the leopards are given a breeding pair in hopes they can produce viable offspring. After the cubs are born, the father is sent away and the babies stay with the mother for about a year. After this year, the cubs, from zoos around the world with Amur leopards, in the Species Survival Program, are paired up by the genetic variation of the new offspring. They are sent to different zoo with their breeding pair to repeat the process. Some of the pairs may even be sent back their natural habitat and be released into the wild in order to boost the wild population (Interview with Turtleback Zookeeper Danielle).
Some captive species even have problematic changes in reproduction such as not be able to reproduce anymore (Lynn 1817). These changes in behavior and high cost are a major factor in whether these programs are sophisticated and whether the animals can be reintroduced into the wild and if it would benefit their
Animal captivity aids in the preservation of endangered animals because of the care zoos and aquariums show to endangered species. Research done by M. Gusset and G. Dick of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), shows in a graph that the efforts done by zoos and aquariums have aided in the preservation of endangered species. Gusset and Dick surveyed multipl...
Any species which fall into the categories vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are considered to be at risk of extinction. Robert Redford said “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security defense of our resource’s because it’s just as important as defense abroad otherwise what is there to defend?” People should all take the environment more seriously and protect the future for those to come. It’s our responsibility to ensure that the children to come may enjoy all of earth’s beauty, and not through old issues of National Geographic’s.
The movie, Racing Extinction, was a great insight on how humanity is about to cause the 6th mass extinction. One way that humans are causing the sixth mass extinction is carbon emissions. Our factories, methods of transportation, and dietary needs are putting an awful lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon we release then enters the oceans and this is making the oceans more acidic, which is killing aquatic life. Another way humans are causing the 6th mass extinction is over hunting. This was prevalent in Indonesia and China, where people were bringing mantas and a particular species of shark close to extinction trying to profit from the species’ valuable body parts.
Earth has gone through five fully major extinctions before. We currently are in the process of Earth’s sixth mass extinction. This mass extinction is closely related in severity to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Earth’s extinctions are broken into three different areas. The first area was the large number of animals caught by hunter-gathers. The discovery of agriculture led to the second area of extinction, wildlife habitats. These wildlife habitats were destroyed due to humans starting to stay in one area.
Because of breeding, such endangered species, two examples of which being the golden lion tamarin and the Przewalski’s wild horse, have improved in numbers significantly (Smithsonian). Although they are bred in captivity, it protects and preserves the animals from s...
From our loving pets that welcome us home every day, to the birds chirping in the morning, to the exotic animals we admire; animal safety and animal rights is a priority that gathers attention across the world. Being up close and personal with animals is a coveted experience that zoos try to bring to everyday life. While it is breathtaking to see these glorious animals it can possibly bring danger to their lives and call into question someone’s morals. The Denver Zoo claims that they rescue endangered or suffering animals from hostile environments and bring them into a safe, nurturing facility where they cater to the animals’ needs. With the demands of the people it is truly amazing that the Denver Zoo can properly care
In the wild, female elephants are constantly pregnant or nursing. This is natural for them because their instincts tell them that they need to keep their number up in the wild or else they will be preyed on to extinction. In zoos it is much harder to accomplish this. Since there are so few elephants in North American zoos, it is hard to form breeding pairs without inbreeding. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums or AZA is an organization which is in charge of and supervises all of the zoos and aquariums in North America. Even if the elephants are just distant cousins, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums will not allow them to breed together. This is to prevent diseases and other problems from emerging. Zoos also cannot bring in new blood to breed with their elephants because new elephants are no longer ...
== = = Human beings are dependent on the Earth's diversity of species for our survival. Wild species play a vital role in the maintenance of the planets ecological functions, yet everyday on the planet 40-100 species become extinct.
...a faster rate than ever. Data from graphs evidently prove this theory. From the graph the greatest leap of extinction is seen 1920s till now. This trend line is drastically increasing (figure 4). Experts say that approximately half of the world’s current species will be entirely gone by the end of the century, hence proving that we are in the middle of an anthropogenic mass extinction.
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.
Because the CO2 levels are rising, the ice caps are melting and many more animals can become extinct. When pangea started splitting, there was a lot of volcanic activity, which cause the death of many dinosaurs. A meteor also hit earth and the mass extinction of many land and marine animals happened. There have been five mass extinctions in Earth’s history. The worst one wiped out ninety-six percent of marine life and seventy percent of land organisms. This took millions of years to recover.
There is nothing normal about today’s rate of extinction. Booming human population growth over the last two century’s has put and continues to put many life forms in danger. The problem is no one knows how extinction of organisms will affect the other members of its ecosystem but the removal of a single species can set off a chain reaction affecting others. Species are lost as their habitats are destroyed. In nineteen seventy three congress passed the endangered species act recognizing that endangered and threatened species of wild life and plants are esthetic,ecological,historical,recreational and scientific value to the nation and its people. The question is are we doing enough to save and protect the wildlife and plants.
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 problems because men cause most problems. Diseases or viruses are also a problem.
In order to talk about the ways we can prevent our wildlife and there homes from being disrupted. We must first address the main causes at hand. These main causes would be: The destruction of habitat,hunting,and pollution. Firstly we should address the destruction of habitats. Since we,as living things,grow and populate,we eventually need more space to spread out. In order to make more room for us we must cultivate to different areas and ultimately disrupt the all ready existent ecosystem there. Taking out a vast amount of wildlife without even realizing it. Loral Wilkonson,states in her article,How we Save Endangered Species,that "scientists estimate that up to one-third of U.S. species are at increased risk of extinction, and more than 1,300 U.S. plants and animals already have been federally listed as threatened or endangered." ( Wilkonson,para.3,reference 1.) This