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“Save Us” - Rare and Endangered Species I. What is an Endangered Species? An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct not only because it is few in numbers but also because of other factors such as loss of habitat and overexploitation. According to the IUCN Red List Statistics, 40% of all organisms based on the sample of species that had been evaluated in 2006 are endangered. Different nations have come up with their own respective laws in order to look after and save these endangered species. There are laws that prohibit hunting and land development in order to help save some endangered species. But in spite of this only few at risk species obtain legal protection. II. List of Some Endangered Animals Mammals Where Listed as Endangered Asian Elephant South-Central and Southeastern Asia Asiatic Lion Turkey to India Baluchistan Bear Iran, Pakistan Brown Bear China, Mexican Holarctic Cheetah Africa to India Dwarf Musk Deer China Great Indian Rhinoceros India Himalayan Musk Deer China, southern slopes of Himalayas Indus River Dolphin Pakistan Red Deer Afghanistan, Morroco, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, France Snow Leopard Central Asia Tibetan Antelope China, India, Nepal Tiger Temperate and Tropical Asia Table A 1 Birds Where Listed as Endangered Bar-tailed Pheasant Burma, China Cheer Pheasant India, Nepal, Pakistan Eurasian Peregrine Falcon Eurasia south to Africa and Mideast Great Indian Bustard India, Pakistan Giant Scops Owl Philippines Hooded Crane Japan, Russia Imperial Pheasant Vietnam Relict Gull China, India Peacock Pheasant Philippines White Crane Siberia, Iran, China White-winged Wood Duck India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Table B Reptiles and Amphibians Where Listed as Endangered Black Softshell Turtle Bangladesh Peacock Turtle Burma Chinese Alligator China Indian Sawback Turtle India Japanese Great Salamander Japan Mugger Crocodile Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Philippine Crocodile Philippines River Terrapin Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia, Malaysia Spotted Pond Turtle North India, Pakistan Yellow Monitor West Pakistan, India, Bangladesh Table C III. Causes of Endangerment of Some Species According to the website endangeredspecies.com, “Endangerment is a broad issue, one that involves the habitats and environments where species live and interact with one another. Although some measures are being taken to help specific cases of endangerment, the universal problem cannot be solved until humans look after the natural environments where endangered species dwell.” It means this issue cannot be solved unless humans looked into the natural habitat where these endangered species inhabit. The major factors that result to the endangerment of some species are loss of habitat, disease and overexploitation, climate change, pollution and other human activities. Whenever there are changes in a species’ environment, it is either forced to survive by adapting to the change in the environment or eventually perish. These changes in the species’ habitat could be either brought about by natural forces or human activities. 2 Diseases and overexploitation of some rare species also cause them to become endangered. If a species does not have the natural genetic defense against particular pathogens, an introduced disease can have severe effects on that specie. On the other hand, unrestricted hunting of some animals caused them to become endangered and eventually become extinct. Sea cow was discovered in 1741 in the Indian Ocean and was used as food by visiting sea-otter hunters. It became extinct 27 years after its discovery. Climate change, pollution as well as other human activities greatly affects the population of many species- both terrestrial and aquatic. IV. Importance of Maintaining a Species According to Wilcove and Master, species should be saved for “aesthetic and moral justifications; the importance of wild species as providers of products and services essential to human welfare; the value of particular species as indicators of environmental health or as keystone species crucial to the functioning of ecosystems; and the scientific breakthroughs that have come from the study of wild organisms. In order to do this, we need to know the reasons behind why many species are becoming endangered. In other words, we need them for our survival, thus it is significant to preserve the diversity of life. An ecosystem is a community where living things, including plants and animals, and non-living things work together. These endangered species are basically part of an ecosystem. Their disappearance could lead to an imbalance in a particular ecosystem which would later on affect the other species in that ecosystem. Most species could prove useful to human development and to the preservation of ecosystem. Many of them provide products such as medicine and provide researches that result in some important scientific discoveries. V. Ways Preserving Endangered Species There are several ways in which one can help to preserving endangered species. One way is to help save the disappearing habitat where these species dwell. Another way is to stop or at least lessen those activities that could contribute to pollution and bring rapid changes in the environment which could affect the survival of these at risk species. VULNERABLE SPECIES - A species particularly at risk because of low or declining numbers or small range, but not a threatened species. 3