There are about 8.7 million different species in the world. However, out of these 8.7 million species, around 41.5 thousand species are endangered, meaning they face the threat of going extinct. The Amur Leopard, Black Rhino, Bornean Orangutan, Cross River Gorilla, Hawksbill Turtle, and Sunda Tiger are all species that are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the WWF, meaning that the species face “an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.” If a species goes extinct, the organism will be wiped from the face of the earth and will never be seen again. In this report, we will be looking at why/how species go endangered, what is being done to help conserve endangered species, and what we can do to help. 

The main reason why species go endangered is because of the loss of their habitats. This can happen naturally as seen by the dinosaurs, who have lost their habitat most likely because of the asteroid that had struck the Earth. However, human activity is more of a cause of endangered species than natural causes in the modern days. Human activity includes “Development for housing, industry, and agriculture” as quoted from National Geographic. An example that National Geographic gives to human activity is the land that was cleared in the Amazon rain forest of South America so that the land could be used by humans. As the forest was cleared and the trees were cut down, many species lost their habitats, for example, the squirrels that lived in the trees. However, deforestation is not the only way human activity causes endangered animals. There are many other human activities besides deforestation; one of them is the damage of ecosystems by pollution. Because of climate change caused by air pollution, all sorts of natural disasters are happening all around the world, even in the wild. For example, because climate change increases the intensity of hurricanes, many animals are going endangered due to these hurricanes striking the ecosystem. 

However, there are still many people on the Earth fighting to help endangered species recover from their status. Organizations like the NOAA have been locating recent oil spills and the endangered species that live nearby, to see if they will be affected. Other organizations like the WWF are helping governments put wildlife criminals like rhino poachers to justice, in order to help conserve the endangered rhino populations. 

The organization Endangered Species Coalition gives us 10 things we can do in this link (https://www.endangered.org/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-save-endangered-species/). To summarize the main points, we can make our home wildlife-friendly, grow native plants, recycle and buy sustainable products, and never purchasing products made from endangered species. 

Sources:

1: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-14616161

2: https://www.endangeredearth.com

3: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

4: https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/our_focus/wildlife_practice/about_species/

5: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/endangered-species/

6: https://science.jrank.org/pages/2465/Endangered-Species-Human-causes-extinction-endangerment.html

7: https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/what-have-we-done-endangered-species-lately.html

8: https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/protecting-species