Written by: Rakshit Dahal - 2022023, Grade XI
Posted on: 01 November, 2020
Endangered species are living beings whose population is so reduced that they are on the verge of extinction. Thousands of species are included in this category. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources publishes a list of endangered species that comprises mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and plants.
Before the arrival of humans, the extinction of living things was associated with geology and climate changes, the effects of which were translated into the major fluctuation of the environment. Change in the environment is still the main cause of extinction but now the changes are highly accelerated by human activity. Cutting trees for farms and settlements, lumbering, mining, building dams, and draining wetlands all alter the environment so extensively that the balance of ecosystems is completely destroyed. With a soaring human population requiring food, shelter, and clothing and constantly demanding more energy-using devices, the requirement of land for human use without the regard for consequences is quite amazing. Several forms of environmental change are responsible for the disappearance of species. For example, with the deforestation of tropical forests, primates have progressively smaller feeding and living spaces. They also become more exposed to hunters, who kill monkeys for food and other purposes and trap many primates for sale as pets, research animals, and zoo specimens. Some animal species may move into human space when their own is destroyed.
Pollution is another cause responsible for environmental change. Many species of birds in the world including peregrine hawk, bald eagle, pelicans, and roseate terns, etc, lay thin-shelled as a result of consumption of low-quality products and some other chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides that make their way into the food chain. Species of salamanders in New England are dying out because the ponds in which they breed and the moist soil in which they must live are contaminated by acid rain. Even in the case of Nepal industrial waste is dumped into the rivers and lakes with no study of consequences.
Human activities have contributed to the extermination of many species. Whale species are on the endangered list as well. The poaching of Rhino and other species in Nepal has been common. Many species are being hunted, leading towards their extinction, especially for their fur, hides, or feathers. These compromise the big cats, elephants, alligators, kimonos, and birds of paradise.
These animals must be protected at all costs. These are the species that make our world beautiful. One thing the human race should always remember is that we share this planet with thousands of other species and it's our prime duty to protect them and give them the life they deserve.
