Endangered Animals

Animals become endangered for several reasons. Unfortunately, most of them have to do with people. Loss of habitat, pollution, hunting and the introduction of foreign animals into habitats has put many animals in danger.

A habitat is a place where animals live. Forests, grasslands and swamplands are some animal habitats. When people cut down trees and develop areas for farming and housing, animals lose their habitats. As a result, fewer animals are born and more of them die. The animals become endangered.

In forests, many animals are in danger because the trees are being cut down. Mountain gorillas, orangutans, pandas and monkeys are just a few of the animals that are endangered because of habitat loss.

When grass and swamp lands are converted for farming and housing, birds such as cranes and owls become rarer. Along with their habitats, the birds lose their nesting areas and food sources.

Pollution has harmed and endangered animals. Chemicals that people use get into our water, air and land and make them dirty and harmful. This isn't good for animals or people.

Farming is a source of pollution that hurts animals. Farmers use chemicals to kill the weeds and insects that hurt their crops. These chemicals do their job, but they also pollute water and harm the animals that eat the insects and weeds. In turn, other animals that eat poisoned animals become sick or die.

Ocean animals have suffered from pollution, too. Oil spills from ships harm the seals, penguins, whales, fish and birds that live on the ocean. The oil poisons their food supply.

Hunting is another reason that animals are endangered. When people hunt animals, they kill them for food, sport or money. For many years, people hunted elephants, tigers, leopards and other animals. The hunters killed so many that these animals became rare and endangered.

Luckily, some people realized that something had to be done before these animals disappeared. The people helped turn some of the animals' habitats into wildlife refuges. Refuges are safe places where hunting is illegal.

In the wildlife refuges, some of the animals slowly have been making a comeback. However, poachers, who kill animals for money, still hunt on these refuges illegally. Rhinos and elephants are still endangered because of poachers.

Introducing new animals into a habitat is also a danger. When humans travel around the world, they sometimes bring dogs, cats and other animals with them. The native animals in the habitat sometimes can't compete for food because "foreign animals" take over.

The giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands near South America are in trouble because people brought goats into their habitat. The goats ate almost all the tortoises' food. There are few tortoises left and they have to be protected to stay alive.

Since people are primarily responsible for animal endangerment, is anyone doing anything about it? Yes. Some governments and organizations are helping to protect these animals and their homes. Protecting animals and their homes is called conservation.

For endangered animals that are losing their habitats, governments and organizations have set aside special areas of land for them. For endangered animals that are being hunted, governments are making hunting them illegal.

Some endangered animals are protected in zoos. Zoos are one of the last resorts for endangered animals. The zoos take endangered animals and breed them in captivity with the hope of releasing them back into their habitats.

The return of the American bison and other animal species is proof that conservation works. American bison, once numbering in the millions in the United States, almost were hunted to extinction. Now, there are thousands of bison in national parks and wildlife refuges.