What is endangered species. Endangered species are species that are mostly to become extinct. To categorize these kind of animals, we have been identifying by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, which is an international organization that collects data about animals and classifies them by 7 kinds of categories. Least Concern (LC), Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), Critically Endangered (CR), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Extinct (EX). From Endangered, the kind of animal is in danger of being extinct. Also, there are two degrees of extinction. If the species is 'Extinct in the Wild', there are still living species, but are in zoos or other places, not nature. If 'Extinct', the species will be never seen again.

There are now 41,415 species including African Forest Elephants, Brown Bear, Fishing Cat etc. More and more animals are being endangered. Why are animals becoming endangered? There are lots of reasons. Threats from changing environments, predators, but the main reason is human destruction of natural habitats like cutting down trees, building houses, draining rivers etc. Also, humans threaten habitat of animals by polluting with pesticides, and other chemicals. The habitat of animals is not only where they live. They find food and give the next generation to take over. It is a very important place for animals.

So what kind of animals are endangered in Thailand? There are 11 endangered animals endangered including the Asian elephant and tiger, 3 critically endangered animals (Javan Rhinoceros, Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Grey Ox). Thailand is seen for illegal wildlife trade so this affects the wildlife of Thailand.

Elephant is the national animal for Thailand, and the culture and love for elephants in Thailand is greatly long. The elephant found in Thailand is the Indian Elephant, a subspecies of the Asian Elephant. In the early 1900s there were an estimated 100,000 elephants in Thailand. But in the mid 2007 there were about thousand elephants. It became an endangered species in 1986. To increase the number of elephants, Thailand put a lot of effort. Making laws, protecting the forest ecosystem and building up food sources. This year May, Thailand revealed good news that the numbers of elephants in Thailand have been rising in rate between 7 to 10 percent.

But recently, there have been several reports about wild elephants destroying crops and sometimes hurting people in the Eastern Region. The DNP (Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department) said this is because the elephants have been forced to expand their territory as they search for food. DNP also said there were about 3,500 to 4,000 elephants roaming the forest of Thailand, but the numbers are increasing due to Thailand's effort. The increasing number of elephants were a good sign, but limited food and sources made the elephants roam around the forests and lead them to human crops. To stop these conflicts, the DNP developed ways to grow food in forests for wild elephants and use bee-hive fences to stop the elephants from destroying the crops. As the elephants come to destroy crops, the bees will chase them away without causing any harm. This is an effective way because people can even collect honey from bee-hives.

More and more animals are becoming endangered due to human destruction. The whole world is thinking ways to stop these problems by increasing numbers of animals, but this way might make more problem as we seen from the Thailand elephants. I'm not saying that increasing the numbers of animals are unacceptable, but we must find a way to find habitats and food for the animals. People should learn to live along with animals. (Enjoy the drawing!)