Animals are going extinct very fast and even with extreme efforts, they’re still dying. There are many species of animals that are being hunted, having their habitats destroyed, are suffering from climate changes or pollution.

The main cause for animals going extinct is habitat loss. This is where animals lose their homes due to humans wanting more land for their species or personal reasons. The second cause is poaching. This means humans kill or capture animals for their body parts. The third is environmental changes. This is where the ecosystem changes due to weather or the introduction to new animals, insects, plants or pesticides. All of these are problems caused by humans. According to tropical-rainforest-animals.com, “…humans are the ultimate weed species…”.

The list of endangered animals goes on, but some, include the Scarlet Macaw, the Black Rhinoceros, Bengal Tiger, Blue Whale and Giant Pandas.

The Macaw is being poached by hunters and losing its habitats. This normally wouldn’t affect it but there is one main reason why it does; they mate for life. When the mate of one Macaw is killed or captured they don’t find another and because it’s in their nature not to mate again for life. There are a number of factors that cause them to be endangered including being hunted for their beautiful feathers and losing their habitats from humans for human needs. They are also captured for pets and sold on the black market. This causes the population to go down.

The Black Rhinoceros is also being poached. The reason hunters want to kill it is because of its horn. The horn is good for making daggers which are a symbol of wealth in Yemen. This makes it very valuable. Two Black Rhino horns can be sold at a price of $50,000 on the black market. It’s an easy way for hunters and farmers to make quick money. So, many of these animals are killed and that is what caused the population to dwindle.

The Bengal Tiger is endangered for all reasons and will soon become extinct without intervention or in this case, the species being left alone. It’s mainly endangered for habitat loss because of humans needing land and natural resources such as wood for fires. Its ecosystem is also changing because of the loss of its prey in its natural habitat. It’s also hunted for its beautiful white fur that is both traded and used for regular needs by local tribes.

Blue Whales are also an endangered species. The reason they are endangered is because of the early whaling era where blue whales and other whales were hunted. This era did not have a big impact with their inefficient ways of killing them until the implication of new tools like spear guns and steamboats. The whales were not only hunted for their blubber and oil for miscellaneous items, but also just because of their size. People thought them as a threat to the human species back in the beginning of the whaling era, so they began to kill them for “safety” reasons. The impact in the past was so great that they still have not rebounded and are still being injured and killed by fishing nets, cargo boats and other ways humans have intruded into their habitat.

Giant Pandas are endangered for the sole reason of habitat loss. With the growing population in China, they take more land for themselves to make homes and businesses. The loss of habitat shrinks their species along with the amount of bamboo they eat. This ends up starving them and killing them.

These are only a few species of animals that are being hunted, deforested or being affected by climate changes or pollution. People are trying, and succeeding in some cases, but they are also the problem. Until the people that are the problem get caught, extinction will continue to keep going.

There are many ways to help and some are as easy as donating. There are many voluntary and involuntary ways to help. Some voluntary things could be joining a local preservation or a place that houses endangered animals to preservation. Involuntary things to do could be just making changes close to home by growing foods or going native, tackle pollution and climate changes by recycling or working with others to leave nature how it was found.