Daniel Lee

December 24
C Block
Endangered

What does the word endangered mean to you? How many of them had a

reddish tinge to their pelt? People have had problems with wolves for a long time.

Different species of wolves have been more affected by others. Being critically

endangered for a long time, people were not even aware of the fact that red wolves

existed in the first place. Aggressive predator control programs, hunting, and

agriculturalization make up the main reasons people do not see many red wolves

today.

Aggressive predator control programs have sharply decreased the population

of red wolves. If a wolf cannot find food in the wild, it will steal from farms to make

up. To prevent pets and farm animals from falling prey to the wolves, farmers laid

traps and carried guns to kill the red wolves to protect the animals. The dwindling

amount of prey leads more and more wolves to visit farms, letting the traps do their

deadly work. Now, there are a few wolves daring enough to go to the farms, and so

farmers hardly lay traps, yet the population of the red wolves have dramatically

dropped in the past by the traps.

People out hunting will shoot the red wolves at first sight to prevent them

from stealing their fallen prey. Even though the wolves are scared by the gunshots,

they will take any chance to grab the prey. Humans will take any chanced to make

sure nothing takes their hunt. It results in a loss of deer and wolves. This leads to

starvation of the wolves, as they have no prey, and take a bite out of their population.

Advancing agriculturalization slowly destroys the forests where the red

wolves reside in. People need more food, and to get that, they need to erase the

national habitats of the wolves to provide space for the farms. Then, they create

fume—billowing factories that pollute the woodlands where the red wolves reside.

Not only do the wolves get sick, but the prey as well, and so the healthy wolves who

eat sick prey get sick themselves. The natural habitats for the wolves also get smaller

and smaller, driving away prey and starving the wolves.

These three causes have put a big impact on the number of red wolves left in

the wild. Humans are the main reason why red wolves are becoming extinct—people

take their land, thus scaring away all the prey, and forcing them into traps and driving

bullets into their hearts. But some are making progress—red wolves are being

revived in conservatories. Although less than three hundred are said to be left in the

wild, their population is slowly coming back. If everyone works to help these

animals, then no one will see another species disappear from the face of the earth.