Endangered Species

Endangered species and the human causes of it

     

Lets first discuss the definition of Endangered Species; An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct. Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds, like species. There are three specific categories of Endangered:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/what-does-endangered-species-mean

What law protects Endangered Species? In 1973, the US Endangered Species Act was passed. This is our nations most effective law for protecting at-risk species from extinction. This law allows individuals or organizations to petition to have an animal listed as endangered or threatened. This petitions go through vigorous scientific evaluations and public reviews before the decision is made. This law requires protection for critical habitats and allows for the development and implementation of recovery plans for the labeled species.

How are humans involved in species becoming endangered and extinct:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/amur-leopard

Habitat Destruction and Pollution: Humans are destroying animal habitats through building, deforestation, draining rivers, paving over land for streets and parking lots. Human's are also polluting lands with petroleum products, pesticides, trash, and other chemicals. An example are the Amur Leopards. Between 1970 and  1983, 80 percent of Amur Leopard's habitat was lost due to logging, forest fires, and agricultural land conversion projects. The loss of habitat also resulted in the leopards prey becoming scarce. As of 2019, about 84 individuals remain in the wild and less than 180 in captivity.

https://www.bioexpedition.com/south-china-tiger/

Exploitation: Hunting and poaching. One big example are the South China Tiger. From 1958 to 1961, China worked to improve their economic situation through industrialization and collectivization. During this time the South China Tigers were labeled as one of the four pest and resulted in a mass extermination until the it was outlawed in 1979. There was about 4,000 South China tigers in the early 1950s and now their numbers are estimated to be less than 100. 

https://louisvillezoo.org/animalsandplants/ferret-black-footed/

Diet: Animals have particular diets like Herbivores (plant-eaters) and Carnivores (meat eaters). Many carnivores mammals are on the endangered list, due to their prey being hunted to extinction, like the black-footed ferrets who rely on prairie dogs. Prairie dogs are considered a key stone species because they benefit about 150 other species through fertilizing soil and a food sources for some species. Biologists have reported about a 98 percent decline in the 20th century; about 5 billion prairie dogs used to exist and now they are  down to about 100 million. The decline in prairie dogs, nearly wiped out the black-footed ferrets, but recovery efforts have restored about 300 animals across north america.

https://bugspray.com/article/prairiedog.html

Site Visit: Smithsonian's National Zoo

For my site visit, I went to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Not only do they have exhibits with endangered animals, but they are also a conservation, The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) works to save species from extinction. The headquarters are in Front Royal, Virginia, the Smithsonian's National Zoo in D.C., and field research sites worldwide. They study animal behavior and reproduction, ecology, genetics, migration and conservation sustainability. SCBI scientists also breed more than 20 species, like black-footed ferrets and Scimitar-Horned Oryx. SCBI was founded in 1974 and developed the basis of breeding in the mid-1980s.

In the National Zoo, they have multiple animal exhibits containing species with an endangered status from least concern to extinct in the wild. There were some animals that weren't available to view due to the temperatures. I did enjoy reading about all the endangered animals. They had a good amount of information by each animal and why they have become endangered. It was sad seeing all the animals in glass exhibits, but after reading more about their conservation, some species are currently safer at this conservation. Their goal is to protect species from becoming extinct and they also help breed the animals so their species can continue to live.

What can YOU do to save Endangered Species:

• Learn about endangered species in the area. 
• Here is a link to a list of endangered and threatened species  in Virginia: https://www.fws.gov/endangered/map/va-info.html
• Visit a national wildlife refuge or park.
• List of refuges in VA: https://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/ByState.cfm?state=VA 
• Places in Virginia where you can enjoy the wildlife: https://www.virginia.org/95placesforwildlife/
• Make your home wildlife friendly
• Secure your garbage, feed your pets indoor and lock pet doors at night, reduce water usage your home and garden, disinfect your bird baths. and place decals in windows to deter bird collisions
• Native plants provide food and shelter for native wildlife
• Native insects like bees and butterflies help pollinate your plants
• Herbicides and pesticides are hazardous pollutants that affect wildlife
• Many herbicides and pesticides take a long time to degrade and will build up in soil, harming predators eating poisoned animals.
• Slow down when driving
• Recycle and buy sustainable products
• Watch what you buy
• Some souvenirs and products are made from species nearing extinction. Also avoid supporting markets with illegal wildlife. 
• Harassing wildlife is cruel and illegal
• Protect wildlife habitat
• One of the greatest threat to many species is the widespread destruction of habitat. Scientists state the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the places they live. 

Pictures:

Questions:

1. What human impact/actions do you see everyday that could affect our local species? Do you know of a local species that is marked as being endangered? If you read the list of locally endangered species, what was the most surprising? 

2. According to IUCN, there are more than 30,000 species being threatened with extinction. After finding out about the humans impact on endangered species, what else do you believe is causing 

animals to become endangered or extinct?

Works Citied

About SCBI. (2017, March 3). Retrieved from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation/about-

   scbi.

Bove, J. (2019, July 12). Intriguing Amur Leopard Facts. Retrieved from
   https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-the-endangered-amur-leopard-1182000.

Merry, M. (n.d.). 10 Easy Things You Can Do to Save Endangered Species. Retrieved from
   https://www.endangered.org/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-save-endangered-species/.

Miriam. (2019, May 2). Endangered Species of the South China Tiger. Retrieved from
   https://thegreatgathering.org/endangered-species-of-the-south-china-tiger/.

Person. (2013, August 6). 6 Critically Endangered Animals Under Threat of Extinction Due to
   Human Activity. Retrieved from https://inhabitat.com/6-critically-endangered-animals-under-
   threat-of-extinction-due-to-human-activity/.

What does 'endangered species' mean? (n.d.). Retrieved from
    https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/what-does-endangered-species-mean.