CALISTON, Rod Daniel E.

DVM-2B AS 106

2nd Laboratory Activity

Three Critically Endangered Species:

1. Hawksbill Turtle/ Eretmochelys imbricata
- Despite their current protection under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and many national laws,
there is still a disturbingly large amount of illegal trade in hawksbill shells and
products. They are much sought after throughout the tropics for their beautiful
brown and yellow carapace plates that are manufactured into tortoiseshell items
for jewelry and ornaments. In recent decades, eastern Asia has provided an
eager market for tortoiseshell. Hawksbills are particularly susceptible to
entanglement in gillnets and accidental capture on fishing hooks. Sea turtles
need to reach the surface to breathe, and therefore many drown once caught.
Known as bycatch, this is a serious threat to hawksbill turtles. As fishing activity
expands, this threat is more of a problem.

2. Vaquita/ Phocoena sinus

- Vaquitas are the most endangered marine mammal on the planet. Vaquitas
are innocent victims of illegal wildlife trade, they are tragic bycatch of illegal
fishermen in the Opera Guld of California that uses gill nets to catch a fish called
totuava which is equally endangered is often called the cocaine of the sea, for
they are believed to have tonic anti-aging and miraculous properties that are
sold in the Chinese black-market.

3. Black Rhino/ Diceros bicornis

- Of all the threats facing black rhinos, poaching is the deadliest. Black rhinos
have two horns which make them lucrative targets for the illegal trade in rhino
horn A wave of poaching for rhino horn rippled through Kenya and Tanzania,
continued south through Zambia's Luangwa Valley as far as the Zambezi River,
and spread into Zimbabwe. Political instability and wars have greatly hampered
rhino conservation work in Africa, notably in Angola, Rwanda, Somalia, and
Sudan. This situation has exacerbated threats such as trade in rhino horn and
increased poaching due to poverty. Today, black rhinos remain critically
endangered because of rising demand for rhino horn, from some Asian
CALISTON, Rod Daniel E. DVM-2B AS 106

consumers, particularly in Vietnam and China, who use them in folk remedies. A
recent increase in poaching in South Africa threatens to erase our conservation
success, reaching an apex in 2014 when 1,215 rhinos were poached. Poaching
numbers are slowly decreasing—594 were poached in 2019—but poaching
continues unabated with numbers remaining unsustainably high.

Three Endangered Species:

1. Whale Shark/Rhincodon typus
Aside from obvious habitat loss, illegal shark finning, bycatch and food poisoning,
whale sharks also threatened by plastic pollution as they are filter feeders, they
often encounter microplastics and other plastic materials that accumulates in
their body.
2. Tiger/ Panthera tigris

Tigers are large animals that require a lot of land to roam and hunt. They require
tall grasses and vegetation to hide in. Tigers, like all animals, need a reliable water
and food supply. When these are taken away, tigers cannot survive. Habitat loss,
human conflict, and climate change have been attributed to a severe decrease
in tigers’ natural habitat range. The human population has tripled since the
1950s. Such a large increase has led to an extreme and severe reduction of
tigers’ natural habitat range. Scientists estimate that tigers have lost 85% to 93%
of their habitat land. With a smaller habitat to roam, tigers have become more
of a problem for human populations, leading to more lethal confrontations for
wild tigers. This has led to farmers killing many tigers to protect their livestock.
3. Dugong/ Dugong dugon

Dugongs are threatened by sea grass habitat loss or degradation because of

coastal development or industrial activities that cause water pollution. If there is
not enough sea grass to eat then the dugong does not breed normally. This
makes the conservation of their shallow water marine habitat very important.
They also often become victims of bycatch, the accidental entanglement in
fishing nets.
CALISTON, Rod Daniel E. DVM-2B AS 106

References:
Species list | Endangered, vulnerable, and threatened animals | WWF. (n.d.).
World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=des
c&sort=extinction_status
Black rhino. (n.d.). World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-rhino
Hawksbill turtle. (n.d.). World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hawksbill-turtle
Black rhino. (n.d.). World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-rhino
Whale shark. (n.d.). World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/whale-shark
Winget, E. (2021, April 19). Why are tigers endangered? And what can be done
to help. - Taking the fear out of and putting the fun into homeschool
science. https://thehomeschoolscientist.com/tigers-endangered/
Dugong. (n.d.). World Wildlife
Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/dugong