National Endangered Species Day

With a heavy heart, I’d like to bring your awareness to National Endangered Species Day. An endangered species is “an animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction,” according to Google. Can you imagine? An entire species completely wiped of its existence on Earth. Animals tend to become extinct due to the threat of predators, or, more commonly, a distinct change in its environment that the animal cannot adapt to.

Worldwildlife.org states that there are different categories of endangered species:

1. Vulnerable. This is a species that is at a high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.
2. Endangered. This is a species that is at a very high risk of becoming extinct.
3. Critically endangered. This is a species that is at an extremely high risk of becoming extinct.

More than 26,500 species are endangered.

Here are some species that you may not have known are endangered:

• The Blue Whale. Did you know that the blue whale is the largest animal on the planet? There are less than 25,000 blue whales on the planet, according to britannica.com. 20th-century whaling reduced the amount of blue whales by up to 90%.

• Gorilla. It’s estimated that there are only approximately 220,000 gorillas in the wild. The cause for endangerment is habitat encroachment and poaching. The female only reproduces one every four years.

• Giant panda. The population of giant pandas is roughly 2,500 in China.

• Tigers. Tigers are poached to be used for “medicine” and as a trophy. China outlawed the consumption of tigers in 2014. It’s estimated that there are fewer than 4,000 tigers left.

• Honey bees. This heartbreaking fact only recently became true. Bees lives are threatened by the use of pesticides and GMOs, climate change, viral diseases, loss of habitat. Not only does pollination feed humans, it feeds other animals too. The brutal truth is that we cannot survive without bees.

By researching and making yourself aware of the truth, you can start to take small steps in your everyday lives to prevent the extinction of these beautiful species.

If only we could protect these animals the way we protect our possessions with insurance. If only there was a way to insure the loss of an entire species.

By: KayLynn P.