Endangered Wildlife and Extinction: What it means to the World

First let me begin by defining the term ‘extinction’.  Extinction is the end to a species (plant or animal; micro organism or macro organism) which usually begins when the last member of the species dies.  Extinction can also occur in small groups where members of the species exist in a different area but no longer exist in another.  This is termed isolated extinction.  Extinction is different than endangered or threatened.  When a species is endangered, it has the potential to become extinct in the near future.  When a species is threatened, it has the potential to become endangered.  Some members of each group are listed below:

Endangered Animals:

African Elephant

American Bison

Sand Cat

Sea Otter

Sumatran Rhino

Threatened Animals:

American Bald Eagle

Canada Lynx

Loggerhead Turtle

Timber Rattlesnake

Extinct Animals:

Javan Rhino (Recently extinct. Article link here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-20126463/worlds-last-vietnam-rhino-killed-for-its-horn/)

West African Black Rhino

So what does all of this mean?

Many people do not pay any attention to threatened, endangered, or extinct species and truthfully I did not until I began my Zoology program.  After learning and researching, it is my opinion that we will see an exponential increase in extinctions in our lifetime.  Sadly our children may not live to see some species that we cherished as children.  However, it is refreshing to see some species being removed from the endangered species list.    

How do we stop our impact?

There is an article by Stuart Pimm titled “Extinction by Numbers” which discusses our impact on extinction through habitat loss.  Habitat loss is the leading cause of species extinction with humans being the main reason.  Our continued growth through industry, agriculture, and the like (although beneficial to us) decreases habitat availability.  When habitats are decreased, species grow in concentration in smaller areas, competition for food sources increases, food decreases, and eventually specie numbers begin to diminish.   Other causes for extinction include climate changes (also due to humans and global warming) and poaching/bush meat trade.  This is not to say that humans are the only reason for extinctions.  As we have seen with the dinosaurs, mass extinctions through random events can occur.

In addition, the below link directs you to the Alliance for Zero Extinction website. It is a very useful tool in determining species extinction numbers and the like. 

http://www.zeroextinction.org/