Please keep this a serious thread and please remain respectful and read this whole thing. I am in a biology class this January Term, and we have gone to the zoo and an aquarium in the past week. Going to these places reminds me about how much I do love animals more than I love actual human beings, family being the exception. So practically if I had an ultimatum to save a person or an animal, I would save the animal. Now onto the point of this- After going to the zoo, aquarium and simply taking the class I have been reminded of a few of the many species of organisms that are extinct, endangered, and becoming endangered due to human activity. Looking at the lists as I was a few minutes ago I was going to post as many as I can but the list would be longer than my longest guides I can make for this game. The annihilation of all these organisms crushes my heart that I am a part if the species, the human species, who is single handedly responsible for the disappearance of hundreds... HUNDREDS of organisms ranging from animals, mammals, birds, reptiles, insects , bugs , and many different kinds of species that belong to the seas as well. There is in no way that we can blame " natural selection" or " survival of the fittest" in this situation. Many of these organisms have had absolutely no defense against the pollution and destruction that we have brought upon the Earth. An animal does not simply adapt to massive pollution of their environment, an animal has no chance of survival against humans. Humans being the most intelligent species on earth I will admit, though it gives us no right to hunt any species to nothing, it gives us no right to destroy entire environments without knowing how it will affect the species that depend on that environment or even how we depend on it. We have no right to hunt Elephant Seals to near extinction just for the oil in their skin. We have no right to hunt wolves down just because they kill livestock. They can possibly be starving animals where you are providing them with an option that is an easy kill, instead of having to die in the wild. The funny thing is, is the predator/prey relationship between animals like antelope and wolves helps maintain a stable, working ecosystem... We are responsible now for the restoration and protection of our mistakes. Hopefully this reaches out to people. And I would like people to show their respect in any possible way you can. If you cannot think of anything to do go on to the Internet and look up organisms that can be easily found on the Internet . If you do go ahead and post their name, a picture if you can , maybe something cool about them, and why they are now extinct, endangered and/or near endangerment. I will post a song I like: Please do not repeat each other, thank you. Countdown to Extinction: Megadeth Endangered species, caged in fright, Shot in cold blood, no chance to fight. The stage is set, now pay the price. An ego boost, don't think twice. Technology, the battle's unfair, You pull the hammer without a care. Squeeze the trigger that makes you Man, Pseudo-safari, the hunt is canned... The hunt is canned. Chorus All are gone, all but one. No contest, nowhere to run. No more left, only one. This is it, this is the Countdown to Extinction. Tell the truth, you wouldn't dare. The skin and trophy, oh so rare. Silence speaks louder than words. Ignore the guilt, and take your turn. Liars anagram is "lairs," Man you were never even there. Killed a few feet from the cages, Point blank, you're so courageous... So courageous. Chorus One hour from now, Another species of life form Will disappear off the face of the planet Forever...and the rate is accelerating. Chorus
Just gained a lot of respect from me, Dan. For doing what you do with a passion as well as taking the time to write this. First thing that comes to mind for me is the Dodo bird. When I was in school it was always the simple symbol of the harm that people can do, we had little pictures throughout all of the rooms. We destroyed their habitat, food source and introduced invasive predators to their islands. All of the sources online say the last time this bird was thought to be alive was in the late 17th century. Compared to most this is a relatively mild example of our stupidity.
I used to study geography and environmental science while in college and briefly at Uni. I have a similar passion for it as you do. I had the opportunity to go to Indonesia due to my fiancee being from Jakarta (I'm English) so I grabbed the chance to travel. Going to SE Asia opened my eyes to the situation we face when trying to 'save the animals' and restoring and protecting the environments and ecosystems. Chinese pay top prices for shark fin soup and turtle eggs, I took a train across Java and saw logging on a mass scale. Unfortunately as much as you do to help save certain things I think it's inevitable that it's too late for some species.
West African lions Are being poached to extinction. In fact numerous large cats are almost near extinction including but not limited to, leopards, tigers and cheetahs.
I noticed that too, big cats have been poached a lot and environment destruction also hurts these guys too.
Since Indonesia is close to my heart i will add to this list the Sunda or Javanese Rhino. It's thought to be the most endangered large mammal left in the world with only about 40 in existence in Ujung national park in west Java. It was hunted for it's horn for medicinal purposes by the Chinese. EcoTourism is the main way to help these now.
Red Pandas OMG THEY'RE SO CUTTTTEE!? They look like little raccoons Red pandas are endangered mainly because of habitat loss from deforestation, but also from hunting to use their fur for hats and clothing.
I really love this thread. I was just watching television and saw that tigers are near extinction. Although not surprising, it still hit my heart. We tear down their habitats, take their skin and bones. We are destroying species after species.