endangered+species

Endangered animals are those species that are in danger of going extinct. Their reproductive rates are lower than their mortality rates over long periods of time, so their numbers are diminishing. The reasons for this are varied, but lately, very often involves a loss of habitat as people encroach on their living areas. When a species is listed as endangered or threatened, it is not a death sentence. Many animals, like the bald eagle and the American alligator, were on the brink of extinction and are now recovering. Many species, however, will not recover, and could be lost forever. Throughout time, animal species have been going extinct (long before people evolved); paleontologists estimate that well over 90 percent of all plant and animal species that ever existed have gone extinct.

Endangered animals:

African elephant

The African Elephant is the largest living land animal (larger than the Asian Elephant). These mammals have very strong social bonds and live in family groups headed by a female (called a cow). Males (called bulls) occasionally join the group. Elephants are excellent swimmers. Elephants have few natural enemies except man, and they are in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat and poaching (they are killed for their ivory tusks).

Cape Hunting Dog (African Wild Dog)



The Cape Hunting Dog (or African Wild Dog) is a rare wild dog that wanders the plains, grasslands and lowland forests of Africa. It is a very social animal that lives in groups. These wild dogs can run over 30 mph (48 km per hour).

Aye-aye



The Aye-aye is a mammal that lives in rain forests of Madagascar, a large island off the southeast coast of Africa. This solitary animal is nocturnal (most active at night). The Aye-aye spends most of its time in trees. During the day, the Aye-aye sleeps in a nest which is located in the fork of a tree. It builds the nest out of leaves and twigs. The Aye-aye is an endangered species. Bison



The Buffalo that Americans refer to is actually a Bison. It is also called the American Buffalo. It is the heaviest land animal in North America. It lives in parks and reserves, inhabiting flat grasslands. Bison can run at speeds up to 30 mph (48 kph). Although the bison almost went extinct in the late 1800's due to over-hunting, it is now recovering.



by LR **^.^**

Most Endangered species Ivory-Billed WOODPECKER

T he most critically endangered species on our list of the ten most critically endangered animals is the ivory-billed woodpecker, which lives—or lived—in the Southeastern part of the US as well as Cuba. This huge woodpecker was considered extinct until 2004, when a handful of tantalizing reports of sightings in Arkansas and Florida began to trickle in. However, definitive proof for the ivory-bill’s continued existence has remained elusive, and if a population does exist, it is likely to be tiny and extremely vulnerable. The ivory-billed woodpecker owes its near- or complete extinction to habitat loss (logging) as well as over-exploitation by humans, who hunted it for its feathers.

Amur Leopard

T he Amur leopard (//Panthera __#|pardus__ orientalis//) is a very rare leopard subspecies that lives only in the remote and snowy northern forests of eastern Russian’s Primorye region. Its former range included Korea and northern China, but the Amur leopard is now extinct in those countries. A 2007 census counted only 14-20 adult Amur leopards and 5-6 cubs. Threats facing the species include habitat loss due to logging, road building and encroaching civilization, poaching (illegal hunting) and global climate change.

Javan Rhinoceros



T he Javan rhinoceros (//Rhinoceros sondaicus//) is the most endangered of the world’s five rhinoceros species, with an estimated 40-60 animals remaining on the western tip of the Island of Java (Indonesia) in Ujung Kulon National Park. The last member of another tiny population in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park was killed by poachers in 2011. The water- and swamp-loving Javan rhinoceros formerly ranged throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia, but has been hunted to near-extinction for its horn, which is used to make Asian folk medicines. Although it is now protected, it may not have a large-enough breeding population to prevent the species from going extinct.

= The Northern Sportive Lemur =

It is very difficult to say that one lemur species is more endangered than another. There are around 100 species of these primates, all of which live on the Island of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa. Virtually all of them are declining dramatically in population, mostly because of habitat loss due to logging in the forests where they live—but also because of illegal hunting. Many lemur species are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

= NORTHERN RIGHT WHALE = ==

T he most endangered of all the world’s whale species, the northern right whale (//Eubalena glacialis//) numbers around 350 individuals that travel the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the US. During the whaling days of the 19th century, the right whale got its name because whalers considered it the “right” whale to kill, as it not only was full of valuable whale oil, but it floated after it was dead, which made it easy to handle and process. As a result, it was driven to near extinction. Although the right whale is now protected, its small remnant population continues to suffer losses due to entanglements in commercial fishing gear: Whales drown after becoming wrapped in nets, lines and other equipment. Global climate change, which can affect the availability of the tiny crustaceans on which right whales feed, may prove to be another serious threat to their recovery.