Animals In Danger

Endangered Lower Animals:
     The less glamorous animals such as mollusks, insects, fishes and reptiles are also endangered. Colourful tropical butterflies are caught by the thousands so that their wings can be used in jewelry and ornaments. Some species of snails, crabs, and crayfish are caught and eaten as delicacies in top restaurants around the world, without any thought about the preservation of breeding populations and their future survival. Fishes continue to suffer from the effects of overfishing and increasing pollution of the seas and oceans.
     Nearly all such lower animals are part of the food supply of an interdependent chain of higher animals such as birds and mammals. Eventually, some of these may also become threatened as their food supply diminishes. Ultimately, the threat may extend to the food supplies of man himself. Yet it is nearly always the activities of man that have brought the animals to the point where their survival is in question.
     The greatest threat to lower animals is pollution of all kinds – from the testing of nuclear weapons to the dumping of sewage and industrial waste. Land reclamation, industrialized agriculture, and the wanton and greedy destruction of the world’s large forests will continue to cause havoc among wildlife unless it is halted.

Endangered Birds:
     Since the last dodo disappeared from the island of Mauritius in 1681, about 80 species of birds have become extinct. In addition to that, there are currently about 210 species and subspecies in danger of extinction. The main threats are to large birds that are conspicuous and easy to kill, as well as suffering from the disadvantage of breeding slowly. Birds that are confined to islands are particularly at risk.

Threats to birds include:
     * hunting – for food, feathers, or sport;
     * uncontrolled hunting (in some parts of the world);
     * egg collecting by egg collectors, and taxidermists;
     * illegal collecting of live birds for trade;
     * habitat destruction; and
     * pollution.
     Overhead power cables kill many migrating birds at night. Lighthouses and skyscrapers are also a threat to migrant birds. One of the worst of all indirect threats is animals introduced by man, particularly on islands. Cats, rats, dogs, and hogs have helped to wipe out many species.

Endangered Mammals:
     Almost every year for the past 80 years, at least one species of mammal has become extinct. Of the 4,000 or so living species of mammals, about 375 are currently listed as endangered. Less adaptable than lower forms of life and usually less mobile than most birds, mammals are in the front line of the fight for survival.
     Humans have considerable commercial interest in mammals and have long been dependent on them for a variety of purposes.
     *Whales are killed for their oil and meat;
     *Monkeys are taken from the forests for medical research;
     *Leopards and cheetahs are killed for sport as well as profit from the sale of their furs;
     *Elephants and walruses are killed for their ivory tusks;
     *The rhinoceros is killed for its horn; and
     *Crocodile skin is still in demand on the black market.
     Excessive and illegal hunting, pollution, and destruction of habitat which often destroys food supplies and breeding grounds threaten the continued existence of many mammals.