Endangered Species

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Earth is a beautiful planet formed by human beings, plants and animals. While human beings are thriving in the world today, animals and plants are not doing so well. People today have knowledge of the many different species, but some of the species are now endangered in certain countries where there is no protection for animals. Endangered species are groups of organisms which are at risk of becoming extinct for one or more reasons. There are many reasons why a particular specie may become endangered. Although these factors can be analyzed and grouped, there are certain causes that appear repeatedly. The main causes of species decline are overexploitation of animals, loss of natural habitat, and global warming. Today there are approximately 1300 endangered or threatened species in the United States.
Overexploitation of animals is one of the most obvious causes of species endangerment. A species that faces overexploitation is one that may become severely endangered or even extinct because of the high rate in which the species is being used. The demand for a certain species may be for food, as in the case of the endangered Bluefin tuna, where the species is subject to overfishing to satisfy high consumer demands. In some countries an animal or its body parts may be valued for its medicinal purposes. Even today there are still parts of Asia where there is a high demand for items such as rhino horns and tiger bones to make traditional medicines. In other cases, an animal part may be harvested purely for ornamental value such as ivory obtained from harvested elephant tusks. Once the certain parts are harvested from the animal, the rest of the animal is discarded and left to die.
The destruction of natural habitats is another major...

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...her factors that can contribute to the endangerment animals and plants. Some of these factors are disturbance during the breeding season, disease, or falling victim to intensive hunting practices. There are many efforts being put forth today to try to remedy this situation. Captive breeding programs are one of the many successful programs that are used today. The purpose of these programs is to boost endangered animal populations in the wild. A majority of the time, the abandoned young is rescued from the wild and then hand-raised in captivity to be released later back into the wild. When the animals are fully grown and capable for fending for themselves, they are then released back into the wild. Although many other factors can contribute to the endangerment of a species, the main contributing factors are overexploitation, natural habitat loss, and global warming.

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