Endangered Animals - Extinction is Forever

People love elephants, lions, and dolphins... So why are all of these animals in danger of becoming extinct, mainly due to human activities? This is a big question with a complicated answer. The article below aims to provides a bite-sized intro to the plight of endangered animals and the world of conservation.

Extinction is the disappearance, brought about by natural or unnatural means, of an entire species.

Some species of plants and animals die out naturally because newer species are more successful at competing for food and living space. Others have become extinct because of changes in the planet or because of natural disasters. Dinosaurs, for example, may have died out because the climate became cooler--maybe because an asteroid collided with the earth and caused a big cloud of dust that blocked out the sun.

It is estimated that about 125 species of birds and 60 species of mammals have become extinct since 1600. Currently, there are approximately 1000-1100 species of birds and mammals that are facing extinction. If invertebrates and plants are included, the total number of species in imminent danger is around 20,000.

In today's world, however, species mostly become extinct or are threatened with extinction because of humans. Humans hunt animals, destroy their habitats, and introduce other animals that prey upon the endangered animals or compete for their resources. Among these factors, the greatest threat to plants and animals is habitat destruction.

Read more about the Endangered Species Act.

A display of some of the endangered species found around the world.

We provide all the best endangered species information.

Endangered species - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Endangered species - Information on many, many endangered animals.

List of all endangered species (animals and plants)

A collection of pictures of several endangered animal species

Endangered Species Program Site.

Comments

Name *
URL
Code   
ChronoComments by Joomla Professional Solutions

Submit Comment