Intro. To Endangered Animals

Endangered animals/plants are a huge part of our environment. They can provide us with a wealth of information and we can learn a lot from these creatures/plants. An example of this is that they can provide us with medical knowledge. These animals make quite a contribution to biodiversity and they keep the environment in natural benefit. If you don’t know what an endangered animal/plant is then here you go; an endangered animal is animal that is under the threat of extinction. These animals range from least concern all the way to critically endangered. Animals that are least concern are animals that have either been upgraded to this condition or it would be very difficult for them to be become endangered. This includes the American alligator, which at one point was endangered, and the brown bear. Animals that are near threatened are animals that could be in trouble of becoming endangered because of a declining population, but isn’t quite that in trouble yet. Two animals that are examples of this include Jaguar and the Beluga. The Jaguar is losing its habitat to deforestation, and the governments of Brazil and Peru are working to preserve the rain forest. Vulnerable animals are animals that could go extinct in the distant future. African elephants are a great example of this because their population has been declining in the past decades due to poaching for their ivory tusks. Another example is the polar bear. The polar bear is considered a marine mammal because it spends so much time on the ice and in the water, but recently its territory (the ice) has begun to melt and it’s losing territory. Endangered animals are animals that could go extinct in the intermediate future and there is a very could chance that they will go extinct. A good example of this is the African Wild Dog. The African Wild Dog is one of the rarest animals on the planet with an estimated 3000-5000 individuals left in the wild. These animals have made their way on to the list because of accidental and targeted killings by humans, viral diseases like rabies and distemper, habitat loss and competition with larger predators like lions. Another good example of this is the Snow Leopard, there is believed to be less than 7000 individuals left in the wild. We are the main reason for their decline because we have hunted and poached them, as well as we compete with them for the same food. Critically endangered animals are animalsthat probably could go extinct in the near future. A very good example of this is the Amur Leopard. There are only about 30 Amur leopards left in the wild. The main reason is because they hunted for their spotted coat. Another very good example of this is the South China Tiger. There are only 30-80 individuals left in the wild, but they are actually believed to be extinct in the wild because of habitat loss. We need to help try to preserve these animals for future generations because if we don’t act now we could loose these magnificent animals forever. WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.