Natural Environment Blog

This planet currently has over 8.7 million species of animals with approximately three quarters of them still undiscovered.¹ Every animal, plant or insect has its own unique role when it comes to the planet and the ecosystems that are part of it.

When you look at the big picture, the ten most threatened animal species doesn’t even begin to cover it as there are hundreds of species at risk for extinction. However, I have chosen to focus on a few well-known species that are at risk due to human involvement in their habitats and environments.

10. Polar Bear

Photo Credit: longhorndave

While the population of Polar Bears (60% of which are in Canada) exists at around 20,000-25,000, they are perhaps one of the most threatened species on our list due to climate change and global warming. One of the major threats is the melting of the polar ice caps, which is causing polar bear cubs to have to swim farther distances with their mothers, many of whom die.

9. Giant Panda

Photo Credit: donjd2

The Giant Panda has been a staple among endangered species lists for years now. While they are still in existence, many outside factors threaten them. The largest is that while there are 2,500 mature animals in the wild, most of their population is fragmented across China living in much smaller groups. This creates lack of genetic diversity and can cause premature death, which will continue to deplete the species. Luckily, the Chinese government has established over “50 panda reserves, protecting more than 2.5 million acres - over 45 percent of remaining giant panda habitat – protecting more than 60 percent of the population”.²

8. Leatherback Turtle

Photo Credit: USFWS/Southeast

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “as few as 2,300 adult females now remain, making the Pacific leatherback the world’s most endangered marine turtle population”.³. The population is at risk due to many adults being accidentally killed by fishing fleets. In addition, they are subject to pollution and climate change as well as egg harvesting.

7. Mountain Gorilla

Photo Credit: Sara & Joachim

While the population of Mountain Gorilla’s is currently on the upswing, having increased by 26% with a new population of 786⁴, they are still considered a threatened species. They are at risk of losing their habitats to continued deforestation and pollution and are often still poached. Another and lesser-known threat is disease. As Mountain Gorillas are so closely related to humans and are in areas where many tourists visit to see them, they are often unknowingly exposed to various “human ailments and can even die from the common cold”. ⁵

6. Mediterranean Monk Seal

Photo Credit: flickkerphotos

There are approximately only 600 of these seals in existence. As it stands, “the species is the world’s most endangered seal and one of the most endangered marine mammals”.⁶ They are in danger from various circumstances such as hunting, heavy ship traffic, fishing nets and pollution. According to another article, the survival rate of pups of the Mediterranean Monk Seal is very low. In fact, “the pup survival rate is very low with just 50% chances of an individual’s survival”.⁷ When it comes to the cold season from September to January, only 29% of pups survive. For the rest of the year, “their survival rate is 71%”.⁸

5. Siberian Tiger

Photo Credit: Daisyree Bakker

According to a recent study, population of the Siberian tiger is “down to just 14 animals, scientists report in the journal Mammalian Biology”.⁹ There are approximately 500 Siberian Tigers in existence, but their genetic diversity is depleting, which puts the effective population much lower. Not only this but the constant deforestation of their habitats is also shrinking their population. The WWF believes that if no action is taken, tigers (not just Siberian) will be extinct within the next twelve years.¹⁰

4. Philippine Eagle

Photo Credit: www.siargao-paradise.com

While not on many typical threatened species list, the Philippine Eagle certainly deserves to be there. It is approximated that “there are only from 180 to 500 Philippine eagles in nature”. Despite the secondary effects of deforestation, the demise of this beautiful bird is coming directly from human hands. These eagles are often poached, hunted or their eggs collected to sell to zoos and bird collectors. Farmers even hunt them for food or for fun. Due to the fact it takes these birds from 5-7 years to become sexually mature, they are simply not recovering at the rate they are being destroyed.

3. Red Wolf

Photo Credit: LaggedOnUser

According to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, “today 100-120 red wolves call northeastern North Carolina home” ¹¹, which is their only wild population. In 1980, the red wolf population declined to only 17 animals due to deforestation and was declared extinct by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. While the population still exists, they are continuing to be threatened by deforestation. In addition, red wolves are still often hunted as they are considered pests to farmers.

2. Javan Rhinoceros

Photo Credit: http://library.thinkquest.org/26993/animals.htm

The Javan Rhino resides in Western Indonesia and “with no more than 60 left in the wild and none in captivity” is considered to be the rarest large mammal on the planet. The main reason for this species almost being wiped off the Earth is that they have been widely poached since colonial times. Additionally, they are, like many other species on this list, losing their environment to deforestation and agricultural plots. Another concern, similar to the Amur Leopard and Siberian Tigers, is that due to the small population, the Javan Rhinoceros is now also lacking in genetic diversity, which is key to survival.

1. Amur Leopard

Photo Credit: Arran Edmonstone Photography

The Amur Leopard recovered from having population of less than 40 individuals around the 1950’s. However, today, the population is again at risk. Today, the wild population of Amur Leopards is “estimated at less than 50 individuals”.¹² Some of the main threats to the Amur Leopard that worry conversationalists are habitat loss due to deforestation and development, prey scarcity and poaching or illegal trade for the fur. Additionally, another threat to this species is the fact that they have declined to such a small population, which not only reduces their genetic diversity, but also makes them at risk for disease.

Though the list of threatened species across the planet is much larger than ten, what we can do to help protect their existence fits every species. The first is to become aware of what wildlife lives in your area. Though they may not be as exotic as the leopard or Giant Panda, they still deserve your attention. Once we become aware, we can start to make change such as supporting legislation to build nature reserves or protect wildlife from poaching. Other things we as individuals and as a society can take part in, is to be mindful of the environment and focus on sustainable living. This will help us to protect the environment as it is today and for future generations.

¹ http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/310775
² http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda.html
³ http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/marine_turtles/leatherback_turtle/
⁴ http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-07/world/africa.gorilla.population_1_mountain-gorilla-population-world-population-species?_s=PM:WORLD
⁵ http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/mountaingorilla/threats.html
⁶ http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9416000/9416895.stm
⁷ http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/mammals/Carnivora/Phocidae/Monachus/Monachus-monachus.html
⁸ http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/mammals/Carnivora/Phocidae/Monachus/Monachus-monachus.html
⁹ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/07/siberian-tiger-population_n_829348.html
¹⁰ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/07/siberian-tiger-population_n_829348.html
¹¹ http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/
¹² http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/amur_leopard2/

This article was contributed by Amy Lizee from Environment911.org.

Environment911.org is an interactive website for individuals to come and discuss the environment from green business to natural disasters. We feel it is important for people to come together and share their thoughts, ideas and visions for the future.

David from PETA contacted me regarding letters PETA recently sent to the attorneys general of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. In the letters, Peta is urging the attorneys general to bring charges against BP and all other culpable parties of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico of cruelty to animals.

“Just as BP is the subject of a federal criminal investigation, causing needless pain and suffering to animals violates each affected state’s anti-cruelty laws,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “BP can compensate for the loss of human livelihoods, but it can never make up for the loss of life that it has inflicted on these states’ animals.”

According to PETA, the anti-cruelty laws of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida provide that any person who unnecessarily causes the torment or death of any animal is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The impact on the oil spill on wildlife includes:

• Some oil-soaked birds lose the ability to float and ultimately drown.
• Other birds die from hypothermia or hyperthermia after oil destroys the insulating powers of their feathers.
• Oil contamination in turtles can cause chemical burns, and kidney, liver, and brain damage can result after animals ingest the tar balls and chemical dispersants that have inundated the Gulf.
• Marine mammals lose body weight when they can not feed due to contamination of their environment by oil
• Birds become easy prey, as their feathers being matted by oil make them less able to fly away;
• Marine mammals such as fur seals become easy prey if oil sticks their flippers to their bodies, making it hard for them to escape predators

Those are just some of the affects of oil spills on wildlife. And, there’s also the affect on the food chain. For example, poisoning of wildlife higher up the food chain if they eat large amounts of other organisms that have taken oil into their tissues. This can also result in poisoning of young through the mother, as a dolphin calf can absorb oil through it’s mothers milk.

To date, more than a thousand animals-including 333 sea turtles and 41 dolphins and other mammals-have been collected dead along the coast. Whales are also expected to be among the casualties.

How Can I Help?

You can assist PETA by sending your concerns to the attorneys general in question.

About PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with more than 2 million members and supporters, is the largest animal rights organization in the world.

PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in laboratories, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds and other “pests,” and the abuse of backyard dogs.

PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.

The benefits of choosing eco-friendly furniture and upholstery are two-fold. You can be kind to the environment, and kind to yourself. Refusing to use animal-derived materials saves land, water and food, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous chemical-use

Choosing animal derived materials for furniture may seem natural, but this may not be the case, since these materials are known to emit toxic emissions which pollute the air, the water and the soil. Often the raising of livestock for wool, down or leather can be cruel.

Leather

Considered very luxurious by many, leather is made from animal skins, and is ecologically harmful. Raising livestock for whatever purpose, meat or leather productive, requires considerable amounts of feed, land, water and fuels. The excrement produced on farms also infects the waterways.

Even the process used to tan leather is noxious and polluting, with some of the oils and dyes used being cyanide-based. The tanning of leather produces a range of different pollutants including chromium, sulphides and acids.

Wool

You can be forgiven for thinking that wool is an environmentally-friendly upholstery material, especially since the sheep from which the wool comes are not killed, merely shorn. Many people (including the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have a problem with how wool-producing livestock are treated. They argue that even if they’re not subjected to pesticide-ridden habitats they could end up being mutilated by their owners.

Animal rights protesters have made a particular example of the Australian Merino sheep, who have been bred to have wrinkly skin which results in increased wool yields. Sometimes flies lay eggs in the folds of the sheep’s skin which can result in fatal maggot infestations, so farmers restrain the sheep without pain killers, cutting out chunks of flesh to discourage flies laying eggs.

Another environmental disadvantage of wool is the amount of gas that sheep and other wool-giving animals emit into the atmosphere through burping and farting. Sheep flatulence represents ninety-percent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, so you shouldn’t doubt that this is a major contributing factor towards climate change.

Down and feathers

Down is a popular filler material for cushioned furniture, and is made from an insulating layer of feathers which can be found underneath the outer feathers of ducks and geese.

Down and feathers are collected from commercial meat processing plants, which means that it is impossible to know if they were raised organically.

Some campaigners have warned that often geese and ducks are plucked while alive. Down and feathers have also been blamed for allergic reactions, although this is more likely to be due to the dust and dirty which can accumulate in bedding over a long time.

Cover finishes

Cover fabrics, such as cotton is often bleached or dyed, and releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment. Permanent-press and stain- and water-repellent finishes can emit gas formaldehyde into the environment. Cotton covers can also have detrimental environmental effects, as cotton uses a lot of water and is treated with more pesticides than any other crop in the world. Cotton is resistant to dyes and bleaches, so half of these chemicals end up as waste in rivers and in the soil.

Adam Cairn writes on behalf of Gecco Interiors, who supply a range of eco furniture and green products.