Endangered species

To start off endangered species can be either species of plants or animals. They have to fit certain
criteria to be considered endangered. There are lists of all the endangared speicies all around the
world and many organizations work on protecting these species. Different goverments have even put
laws in place that not only protect these species, but also sanction those who in any way cause
further endangarment thwoeads those animals and plants. So why is it so important that we protect
endangared species??

There is always a connection between endangered spicies and spicies that are extinct. For a species to
be declared extinct there should be no living specimens of that particular species. The reason we
prepare different criteria to pronounce a species as endangered is so we can prevent their extinction.
Since the efforts to protect endangered species have been spreading many spicies have actually
recovered their populations enough to no longer be considered endangered.

wild animals that have, thanks to such efforts, been moved off of the official “endangered” list include
Southern white rhinoceros, the giant panda bear, Gray wolf, gray whale, snow leopard and more. To
further illustrate what actions were taken to raise populations of certain animals, we can pay closer
attention to the conservation efforts that helped Southern white rhinoceros. For decades, rhinos have
been hunted by crime syndicates for their horns, which are then sold on the black market. Today,
they are one of the most endangered species on the planet – that’s why we protect them. Not to be
confused with the northern white rhinoceros, the last male of which — tragically — died in early
2018. Conservation efforts — including anti-poaching initiatives — have helped the southern white
rhino bounce back from the brink of extinction. The species now lives in South Africa, Namibia,
Zimbabwe, and Kenya. southern white rhinos were thought to be extinct in the late 19th century, but
in 1895 a small population of fewer than 100 individuals was discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South
Africa. After more than a century of protection and management, they are now classified as Near
Threatened and around 18,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves. They are
the only of the five rhino species that are not endangered.

It would seem that humanity often starts caring about endangered species only when it already seems
to late. Many animals are endangered or even extinct because someone wanted to profit off of them.
But thankefully we have realised that we have to protect animals and there are now many
organizations who not only raise awareness but also actively help those species. If i remain with the
example of rhinos. In order to prevent poaching preemptively, the Rhino Rescue Project (RRP) was
born. Its founders Ed and Lorinda Hern of the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in Krugersdorp developed
together with veterinarian Charles van Niekerk a device that injects red dye into rhino horns. 
 The purpose: Discouraging the (typically) Asian clients to buy the horn and to prevent poaching in the
first place.