The Fastest Animals on Earth
Usain Bolt may be the fastest human on Earth, but he is practically standing still compared to the fastest animals on Earth
Asian Elephants are the most endangered elephants. Source: Rakeshkdogra, via Wikimedia Commons Ads by Google What is an Endangered Animal? An endangered animal is an animal that is at risk of becoming extinct. Extinction means there are no animals of that kind that exist today. Dinosaurs are one large group of animals that have become extinct; others include dodo birds, mammoths, and even some species of tigers. There are many reasons why an animal could be at risk of becoming extinct. An animal may be threatened by environmental changes, destruction of habitat, shortage of food supply, or being hunted. Many of these causes can be prevented if all humans got together and decided to actively preserve animal life. Many areas that used to be home to a lot of animals, have been turned into places where humans now either live or go, such as a subdivision or mall. Some believe that global change, where the earth is warming up, is causing some animals to lose their home due to changes in weather across the Earth. This has many scientists concerned, especially for animals that live on ice caps such as penguins. Another common reason an animal becomes endangered is because of being hunted by humans. There are many laws surrounding those of endangered animals to prevent their complete extinction. Yet there are people who ignore these laws, and will still kill animals for either their fur or meat. These people are called poachers. So what animals are endangered? Is there anything we can do to prevent them from becoming extinct? Well, many animals are endangered, so I am only able to list a few. Yet, there is a lot we can do for these animals and the animals in our neighborhood to prevent them from becoming endangered or worse, extinct. Siberian Tiger A Siberian Tiger is a critically endangered animal, which means that they are in danger of becoming extinct in the immediate future. Source: S. Taheri, edited by Fir0002, via Wikimedia Commons What Animals Are Endangered Many Kinds of Tigers are Endangered Animals: There are nine different types of tigers. Three of these kinds are extinct. The picture to the right is a picture of a Siberian Tiger. The Siberian Tiger is considered critically endangered. Being critically endangered means that they could become extinct in the immediate future due to having very few living Siberian Tigers left. There is only one type of tiger that is more endangered than the Siberian Tiger, which is the South China Tiger. The South China Tiger is one of the ten most endangered animals in the entire world according to china.org. There is believed to be only fifty-nine South China Tigers alive, and none live in their original habitat. This means they are extinct in the wild. Bengal Tigers are another endangered animal, but unlike the South China Tiger, they still live in the wild. They believe that there is less than two thousand. That is less tigers than people who live in most cities. Elephants are very protective of their young. This is one thing that helps them survive despite their decreasing numbers. Source: Siddharth Maheshwari, via Wikimedia Commons Elephants are Endangered Animals. There are two kinds of elephants, the African elephant and the Asian elephant. Both kinds are endangered. There are believed to be around five-hundred-thousand African elephants in the wild. This may sound like a lot, but only twenty-five years ago, there were more than one million. As you can see the numbers are decreasing very quickly. That means in twenty-five years, half the elephants that lived, have died. Asian elephants are even more endangered than African elephants. It is believed that there are less than 50,000. This is only a tenth of the number of African elephants. These are becoming more extinct due to habitat loss and from people poaching, or hunting them. Leatherback Sea Turtle Leatherback sea turtles need uninhabited beaches to live. Source: Ryan Somma, via Wikimedia Commons The Leatherback Sea Turtle is An Endangered Species The leatherback sea turtle is the world's largest turtle. Unfortunately, it is also the most endangered turtle, as well. It has become endangered for many reasons, one being because humans have taken their eggs as keepsakes. Many people find it neat to find a turtle egg on the beach, and pick it up. They don't realize they are killing off an entire species. If you see eggs on the beach, feel free to take a picture, but leave the eggs alone. Another reason they are dying is because of plastic ingestion, that is why it is important to never litter. Plastic can get into the ocean, and many animals will eat it thinking it is food. These have effected the population of leatherback sea turtles, but the biggest reason for their decreasing numbers is the loss of beaches where they can habitate. The more beaches we humans have to swim on, the less there are for other creatures to live. Snow Leopards Snow leopards are very beautiful animals. Unfortunately, their beauty has caused poachers to hunt them. Source: Eric Kilby from USA, via Wikimedia Commons Leopards are Endangered Animals There are at least nine different subspecies of leopards. Many of these are endangered. One subspecies of leopards that are endangered is the amur leopards The amur leopards are the most endangered of all the leopards. There are only forty left on this earth. They lived in the same area as the Siberian tiger. Both have been effected by the decreasing area where they can survive. Also people used to hunt them, because their coats are very beautiful. Now, with the limited number of amur leopards, the chance of having babies has decreased, causing the numbers to decrease even further. The snow leopard is another leopard that is endangered. There are around five thousand snow leopards left on this Earth in the wild. A big problem for the snow leopard is that the animals they prey on are decreasing. As their food decreases, so does the number of surviving snow leopards. Learn More About Endangered Animals National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia: 2,500 Animals with Photos, Maps, and More! Amazon Price: $12.50 List Price: $24.95 The Best Book of Endangered and Extinct Animals Amazon Price: $6.98 List Price: $12.95 Endangered Animals Color and Learn Book: The Coloring Book for Kids Who Love Endangered Animals Amazon Price: $4.68 List Price: $8.98 What Can You Do To Help Endangered Animals The biggest thing we can do to help endangered animals is to take care of our world. Maybe tigers and leopards don't live where you do, but many animals do. They need protection, just like other animals do. There are many ways that we can protect animals by taking care of our world. Recycle: We need to make sure that we are recycling plastic, tin, and paper, so that we don't use our world's natural resources. Everytime paper is made, or a bottle is made, resources from our Earth are being used. Some of these resources are found where animals live, and to get to them, we need to disrupt their habitat. By making sure we reduce, reuse, recycle, we allow places where endangered animals live to be protected from being destroyed, because people will not be in as pursuit of new resources. Reduce: By reducing what you use, you can also protect our Earth. One way to do this is, instead of writing on one side of paper, write on both sides. Also, when you leave a room, reduce the energy you are using by turning off the lights. Reuse: We should also choose items that can be reused, like a reusable water bottle, rather than prepackaged water bottles. By using reusable containers for our water, rather than buying bottled water, we prevent many of our resources from being used up. Another example is use a towel, rather than paper towels. Plant a Tree: Many animals use trees for shelter, protection, or even food. All big trees began as small trees. The only way to assure there are going to be big trees in the future is if there are small trees today. You can acheive this by planting trees in your neighborhood. Join an Adopt An Animal Program: There are many endangered animals in this world, and there are also a lot of organizations that help these animals. Many of these are where you can actually adopt an animal. They won't come to live with you, but you will receive a picture and information on your animal. You will also receive occassional upates on your adopted pet. It does cost money, so you'll have to discuss this with your parents, but that money will be used to find better habitats for that animal, and research for ways to help that animal thrive back in the wild. Worldwildlife.org is one place where you can find animals to adopt. Be creative, there are hundreds of ways that you can protect our earth. Feel free to share some of your ideas.
A Symbol of India
The male Asiatic lion is slightly smaller than its African cousin. It's also generally shaggier, but possesses a much smaller mane.
Source: wikimedia commons
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