“Animals are, like us, endangered species on an endangered planet, and we are the ones who are endangering them, it, and ourselves. “They are innocent sufferers in a hell of our making” – Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, American author and outspoken vegan and animal rights activist
What are endangered species? As the name suggests, the organisms that are on the verge of extinction because of factors such as habitat loss, poaching, loss of genetic variation, invasive species, etc., soon are termed endangered species.
The salient factor in the life and death of species is the amount of suitable habitat left for them. For example, dinosaurs lost their habitat 65 million years ago because they could not adapt to the cooler habitat, most likely caused by an asteroid striking the earth. Several human activities, such as development of the housing industry, urbanization, agriculture, etc., also contribute to the loss of habitat for native organisms. Development can make a negative impact on the habitat of native species, directly as well as indirectly. In the Amazon Rain Forest of South America, developers have cleared hundreds of thousands of acres. To “clear” a piece of land is to remove all trees and vegetation from it, making a direct impact on the natural habitat of wild animals. Some species, such as fig trees in the rain forest, may provide habitat for other species. As trees are destroyed, species that depend on that tree habitat may also become endangered. Tree crowns provide habitat in the canopy, or top layer, of a rainforest. Plants such as vines, fungi such as mushrooms, and insects such as butterflies live in the rain forest canopy. So do hundreds of species of tropical birds and mammals such as monkeys. As trees are cut down, this habitat is lost. Species have less room to live and reproduce. In this case, development is indirectly causing the loss of habitat for all related species as well.
Another crucial factor leading to an unstaunched hemorrhage of organisms is loss of genetic variation Loss of genetic variation can occur naturally. Cheetahs are a threatened species native to Africa and Asia. These big cats have very little genetic variation. Biologists say that during the last ice age, cheetahs went through a long period of inbreeding. As a result, there are very few genetic differences between cheetahs. They cannot adapt to changes in the environment as quickly as other animals, and fewer cheetahs survive to maturity. Cheetahs are also much more difficult to breed in captivity than other big cats, such as lions and tigers.
There are many more such factors that are making major contributions to the extinction of species. Biodiversity researchers have warned that, within a century, the rising extinction rate might easily wipe out many species still surviving at the present time. The government of different countries has introduced laws and schemes to protect endangered species. Today, every sovereign nation in the world has a protected-area system of some kind. Altogether, the reserves number about 161,000 on land and 6,500 in marine waters. According to the World Database on Protected Areas, a joint project of the United Nations Environmental Program and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, they occupied in 2015 a little less than 15 percent of Earth’s land area and 2.8 percent of Earth’s Ocean area. The coverage is increasing gradually. This trend is encouraging. To have reached the existing level is a tribute to those who have led and participated in the global conservation effort.
But above any law or rule or external support by human beings, the species, on their own, try their best to conserve their family tree and continue survival. All the animals are somehow interrelated because they are all descended from a common ancestor. Also, the species are interdependent; they rely or depend on each other for different needs like habitat and food. For instance, a bear relies on the fish, which relies on the crayfish for food. Even if they have to kill each other, they know they have to coexist, so they will do it within a particular structure or framework. They themselves make sure that their species do not become extinct. They coexist, they cooperate and support each other, they make up for each other’s weaknesses, and they adapt to the environment in a way that could help them in their survival.
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