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Ashton Houghton

Prof. Wright

ENG 1201

1 May, 2022

“What Can We Do To Help Endangered Species”

The Earth is filled with abundance of life and amazing species that make Earth

such an interesting place to live on. Unfortunately lots of species due to many faults

made directly or indirectly by humans, are now endangered species. A lot of the species

on these lists are very important to their ecosystems, and if gone can have major

consequences. But not all hope is lost, because you may be asking yourselves, how

can we help save these endangered species/ why it’s even important to? There are

many ways to help, ranging from more difficult ways such as donating to specific

species, to easier ways such as planting plants at home for easy shelter for the

endangered species. Every bit helps but here are some more pressing issues and what

can be done to help.

Before we can answer the issue of what to do for these endangered species, we

must discuss why it’s important to save the species in the first place. According to this

article from Alex Daniel titled “The Science-Backed Reasons Why Saving Endangered

Species Is Important” , he discusses some major points of why it’s important to save

these certain species from extinction. The first of 4 major points the author brings up is,
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“They are the sources of medicines, from antibiotics to anti-cancer agents.” The author

brings up that endangered animals can be very helpful not for just the Earth but for us

humans as well, as he states “Biological diversity has been vital to the development of

all types of medicine…nearly half of all drugs created within the last 30 years ‘are either

directly or indirectly from natural products.’ ”( Daniel 1). If it weren't for certain species,

many healthcare possibilities would not be possible, so we should really be trying to

keep these species around as they can help not only their ecosystems, but us as well.

Another point the author brings up is ”They are the first signal of serious environmental

issues.” (Daniel 1). This is essentially saying , that the endangered species and animals

in the regions can help alert us to issues humans are causing such as the author states

, “For instance, freshwater mussels that filter water from the ocean are often the first to

signal pollution issues, and the drop in population of peregrine falcons alerted the world

to the dangers of DDT. '' (Daniel 1). Basically because of the rapid dying of certain

endangered species we were alerted to the dangers of certain substances that could

really harm us humans, and if it weren’t for us noticing we may have been really

affected negatively by this. The 3rd point the author brings up for why endangered

species should be saved is that “ They help keep crops (and by proxy, humans)

healthy.” (Daniel 1). The author goes into detail stating “Farmers frequently use insects

to help ensure the health of their crops. Without them, that could mean less healthy food

for us”(Daniel 1) , basically without these certain insects we have to use things like

harmful pesticides and “ Without animals naturally doing the dirty work of pesticides,

we're exposing our crops, and thereby ourselves, to dangerous chemicals.

But, according to a 2019 meta-analysis published in the journal Biological Conservation,

more than 40 percent of insect species are threatened with extinction. ‘Insects
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constitute the world's most abundant and speciose animal group and provide critical

services within ecosystems,’ “ (Daniel 1). Basically the author is saying we need these

endangered species of insects to not only help us humans and our food production, but

they’re on a huge rapid decline and really need our help or we may have to expose

ourselves to these harmful chemicals. The final point the author makes for why it’s

important to make sure the species don’t die out is “ They boost the economy”.

Obviously everyone knows people really as a whole like cute or exotic animals, and the

more rare a species is the more they tend to get tourism to happen in certain areas of

the world that really need it, such as the author states “Ecotourism generates billions of

dollars every year throughout the world—bird-watchers alone spend nearly $41 billion

annually on travel and equipment.” (Daniel 1). Without these animals in their natural

habitats, many regions of the world would lose a significant amount of cash , and could

have major economic issues, which is why we really try to make an effort to keep them

there.

Now that we understand some major reasons why we should keep these

endangered species as a whole safe and secure,we can talk about one of the major

issues plaguing endangered species, poaching. In this National Geographic article

“Poaching animals, explained” by author Jani Hall , they discuss the issues of poaching

and what harm they cause to endangered species out in the wild. Poaching is a major

issue for endangered species, it involves people taking certain body parts of animals

after killing them for cash , jewelry, exotic food, or medicine, or taking animals out of

their natural habitats to be sold as pets on black markets. The author states that “Wild

animals are being poached on a massive scale, with millions of individual animals of

thousands of species worldwide killed or captured from their native habitats.” (Hall 1).
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This is an obvious issue that cannot be taken lightly as many animals are losing their

lives to this, they go on to also state that “Poaching has devastating consequences for

wildlife. In some instances, it’s the primary reason why an animal faces a risk of

extinction.” (Hall 1). The issue of poaching has had major effects on certain species,

such as the major amounts of deaths on elephants and rhinos for their horns and tusks ,

as stated by Hall saying “This is the case with the African elephant, more than 100,000

of which were killed between 2014 and 2017 for ivory.” (Hall 1). Other than the mass

killing of endangered animals, the issue of taking them from their natural homes to be

sold as pets instead of getting the space they need from the wild is also a very huge

problem, as they “Most wild animals eat specialized diets found in nature, and they

need space to fly, roam, and swing from branches. Captured animals are stuffed into

boxes, suitcases, or sacks, and even if they survive transport, they often suffer in their

new, unnatural situations.” (Hall 1). As you can imagine many animals would rather be

at their own home than in your home, they get stressed and really do bad in regular

people's homes compared to their natural habitats, but many poachers do not care and

will sell them to the local extic pet trade anyway. The main way of helping this issue is to

not purchase any items or products that use things such as real fur ,ivory, or wild bush

meat. And to help with the exotic pet trade , really look into where your exotic animal

was born or raised , if it wasn’t bred locally or the store doesn’t know maybe you

shouldn’t buy it.

On the topic of poaching there are many animals that are exploited for their

natural body parts like elephants and rhinos for their horns and tusks, but there is a very

specific animal regarded as “The Most Poached Mammal in the World” that faces the
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same issues if not more than these gentle giants, this animal is known as the pangolin.

Pangolins are small insectivores meaning they eat primarily bugs, and they are covered

in these round scales,kinda like an armadillo. According to World Animal Protection’s

website “pangolin scales are used in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China

and Vietnam. They are believed to have curative properties; however, pangolin scales

are made of keratin, the same material that makes human fingernails and hair, and have

no proven medicinal value.” (World Animal Protection). This poor little animal is hunted

for the scales at an extremely high rate, even higher than other animals such as

elephants and rhinos. And their numbers get lower every day, however they do state a

few ways of helping this species and it also can apply for the other endangered species,

such as “Strong enforcement of national and international laws, Removal of pangolins

from the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China …Combined and

coordinated efforts by governments, NGOs and the traditional Asian medicine

community to eliminate consumer demand for pangolin-based traditional Asian

medicines…Support for alternative livelihoods, alleviation of poverty and education

programmes within rural communities wherever pangolins are found globally, to stop the

slaughter. ” (Hall). These can majorly help this species thrive once again, simply put do

not support the chinese use of their scales and choose alternatives to help these

species in need, and donating to local, trustworthy organizations wouldn’t hurt either.

Another very important issue of the world that is really hurting the world’s

endangered species is in the ocean is plastic waste. In the article “ 7 Solutions to Ocean

Plastic Pollution” by Ocean Society, states the problems that polluting plastic in the
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ocean can cause a heap load of problems for many species, “in the ocean, plastic

pollution impacts sea turtles, whales, seabirds, fish, coral reefs, and countless other

marine species and habitats.” In fact, scientists estimate that more than half of the

world’s sea turtles and nearly every seabird on Earth have eaten plastic in their

lifetimes.” (Ocean Society). This is obviously not a good thing for the endangered

species of the world’s oceans, and with the ocean being basically 3/4ths of the planet's

surface we really need to find some solutions to the problem of plastic pollution. Another

article from Science Daily and the University of Queensland state that many are smaller

species that are really affected by these issues of plastic such as “ Molluscs, corals, and

echinoderms -- hard or spiny creatures such sea urchins -- are truly feeling the impacts

in our oceans, facing a diverse range of threats” also that “Roughy fishes are quite

vulnerable to the effects of pollution, including organic, inorganic, and nutrient pollution,

which was quite a surprise, as they live at a range of depths, including deep sea, which

demonstrates how far the effects of pollution are spreading." (University of

Queensland). Which basically is also confirming that the major amount of pollution is

killing animals in all levels of the ocean making it a major issue that needs top priority.

Luckily Ocean Society has ways and examples for how you can help such as , “

Reducing single use Plastic” and “Participating in River and Beach clean ups'” . These 2

minor sounding solutions can help the world's oceans a lot, as single use plastics make

up most of the plastics found polluted in the ocean. These single use plastics start at the

beaches and rivers being left there and they slowly drift into the ocean. The website

states that doing river and beach cleanup “... is one of the most direct and rewarding

ways to fight ocean plastic pollution. You can simply go to the beach or waterway and
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collect plastic waste on your own or with friends or family, or you can join a local

organization’s cleanup or an international event like the International Coastal

Cleanup.”(Ocean Society) . Doing these two actions together can really help out the

endangered species in the ocean as it would reduce the trash going into the oceans,

and then the plastic remaining in the ocean can be cleaned out and hopefully stay out if

we make these simple but helpful changes.

Another major issue that has been affecting endangered species recently is

deforestation, specifically in the rainforest of the world. These rainforests make up many

homes for millions of species of animals and many critically endangered animals make

this environment their home according to the World Wildlife Fund, Inc (WWF)

endangered species list such as animals like the “African Forest Elephant” and the

“Bornean Orangutan” which are both heavily affected by deforestation and are

considered “critically endangered”. These species tend to be specially adapted for this

environment and if disturbed could go extinct. This article by the Rainforest Foundation

US titled “Rainforest Foundation US. “10 Things You Can Do To Save the Rain Forests”.

goes into what deforestation is and how you can help. Humans make deforestation

happen by cutting down the trees and plants of the area to make room, “For example,

beef, soybean, and palm oil are main drivers of deforestation in the Amazon basin.”

(Rainforest Foundation US). These issues are pretty common practice all over the globe in

almost every single rainforest, but there are ways you can help obviously like “don’t use

palm oil products” as if they are not bought as often or at all it’ll have to force the

companies that tear down the forests to most likely stop. Another way to help is “reduce

your meat consumption” as they state “ Reduce your meat intake, and buy your meat
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from local farms that use sustainable practices. Check your food product labels for soy

or palm oil ingredients, and buy alternatives when possible. Choosing sustainably

produced foods and products forces companies to change their practices.” (Rainforest

Foundation US). And finally ” buy responsibly scoured products” such as local wood or

from orchards that are local and not just random wood and lumber products as

supporting locally will mean that companies that cut down rainforests will get no profits .

These can go a long way to help countless species from losing their homes by just

doing the bare minimum of checking and reducing items from companies that support

deforestation.

Now that you’ve heard a handful of issues affecting endangered animals

and some ways to combat it for those specific issues, now let's go over some more

general things you can do to help from home. On the Endangered Species Coalition

website you can find 10 easy ways to help endangered species in general. They list 10

ways you can help, and once again they really are relatively easy to do. Three ways of

helping are like, “ Make your home wildlife friendly” or “Native plants provide food and

shelter for native wildlife” and “ Learning about endangered species in your area”

These are very easy things you can do from home and are very helpful to the

environment. Things like making your home more environmentally friendly, like “feeding

your pets inside” and making sure your house is kept well maintained can help

endangered species thrive by being more like their natural environments and not risk

getting attacked by pets or choking on things like trash by “Secure garbage in shelters

or cans with locking lids”. And helping by planting native plants can help smaller

animals such as insects like bees have homes and food readily available for them,
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which is important because, “Invasive species compete with native species for

resources and habitat. They can even prey on native species directly, forcing native

species towards extinction.” And probably one of if not the simplest ways of helping out

endangered species locally, is to just take the time to learn about them. This may not

seem very helpful but if you take the time to learn about the endangered species in your

area it could help by teaching your friends and family on what these endangered

species are , which could lead to you wanting to help out on your own/ bring notice to

maybe otherwise not that well known species. Simple lifestyle changes, taking the time

to research and doing more environmentally friendly things from home can really help,

and if everyone did it, it would significantly help more than people think, and it wouldn’t

hurt to just give it a try, and we may see a better change in the world because of it.

After discussing the importance of keeping endangered species around to the

dangers of what most endangered species face, we can finally answer “what can we do

to help endangered species?”. It really is not as hard as it sounds it just takes some

public interests to want to actually change their lifestyles a little, and to be properly

informed what goes on from certain decisions made by humans, such as how their trash

can really affect an ecosystem or how how many endangered species are affected by

something as simple as exotic pet trades. It really is not a simple one word or simple

sentence answer, it takes a lot of work to really make an effect, however if everyone just

did their part a little more it would make it a lot more simple and not as hard as it is

made out to be. As long as we try , maybe saving the most endangered species from

extinction can be a real possibility we see in our lifetime.

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Works Cited

Daniel,Alex.”The Science-Backed Reasons Why Saving Endangered Species Is

Important,”. BestLife, February 28,

2020,https://bestlifeonline.com/saving-endangered-species/. Accessed 27, March

2022.

endangered .org. “10 Easy Things You Can Do Save Endangered Species”.Endangered

Species Coalition, 2020,

https://www.endangered.org/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-save-endangered-spe

cies/#. Accessed 27, March 2022.

Hall, Jani. “Poaching Animals Explained”. National Geographic, February 12, 2019.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/poaching-animals. Accessed

6, March 2022.

Ocean Society. “7 Ways to Reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution Today”. Ocean Society,

March 01, 2022.

https://www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollutio

n-today/. Accessed 27, March 2022.

Rainforest Foundation US. “10 Things You Can Do To Save the Rain Forests”.

Rainforest Foundation US,July

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27,2021.https://rainforestfoundation.org/engage/10-things-you-can-do/. Accessed

27,March 2022.

University of Queensland. "45,000 marine species are at-risk: What’s most vulnerable?."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 February 2022.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220216095849.htm>. Accessed 27,

March

2022.

World Animal Protection. “Pangolins: The most poached mammal in the world”. World

Animal Protection, March 12, 2018,

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.nz/news/pangolins-most-poached-mamma

l-world. Accessed 27,March 2022.

WWF. “Species List”. World Wildlife Fund,2022 ,

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_st

atus. accessed 27, March 2022.

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