Natalie Barletta – Opinions Editor
A few weeks ago, I logged onto my Facebook to check to see what was up with my friends and family. On my newsfeed, I found something particularly interesting. The lemur Jovian from the hit television show Zoboomafoo had died from kidney failure. I then was curious about what a lemur was. So, after some research, I was sad to learn that they were an endangered species, and was interested in learning on ways I can help save them.
Lemurs are one of many that are on an extremely long list of species that are endangered. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there’s three different red statuses and classifications a species must endure before coming extinct. The first is critically endangered, where a species is at an exceptionally high risk of becoming extinct in the wild. The second is endangered, where a species is at a very high risk of becoming extinct. Then there’s vulnerable very a species faces some risk of extinction in the wild.
While looking at the World Wildlife website, several animals made the list in all of those categories. Some of the more surprising ones included the amur leopard, the green panda and the African Elephant. My question is why these animals are at risk for extinction in the first place?
There’s no direct reason as to why an animal can become extinct. There are many factors as to why an animal can be found on the endangered or vulnerable species list.
For some animals, such as the polar bear, it’s because of global warming. For other animals, such as the Tasmanian Tiger, it’s because they have been over hunted to the point where they can not reproduce fast enough. For fish, the reason why they could become endangered could very well be as a result to pollution. For animals, such as the Snowy Owl, it is a matter of the oil rigs that drill in their habitat that harm them.
According to the Biological Diversity website, there is no direct answer as to why certain animals have become endangered or extinct. However, I think that we as a human species should examine our own behaviors, and try to help save our wildlife.
And how can we do this?
For starters, we can avoid littering on beaches to avoid pollution that can really put our fish and other sea life creatures in danger. Joining beach clean ups throughout the year can really help save many fish and other wildlife creatures from digesting the carbon footprint that we leave behind. In Connecticut there are several that go year round, such as Save the Sound, and the Housatonic Valley Association. You can also purchase a ‘Save the Sound’ license plate when registering your car to donate to preserving Long Island Sound.
However, for animals like the Lemur a beach clean up won’t help them get off the endangered species list. There are many ways that you can help save them. The first action, and the least costly, is to become informed on environmental issues. Spend some time keeping up with news about the environment and doing your research. Another less costly step that you can take is to write to government leaders to take action. The last thing is to donate. I don’t know about you all, but as a college student I tend to not have that much money. However, if you can spare it, you can adopt an animal or even donate a few dollars to help save those on that list. A little can go a long way.
Hopefully, for animals like the Lemur, we can help them get off the endangered list. However, we will not let them go without a fight. Become informed, donate or do whatever you can to help save these animals.
Photo Credits: Sk8mama, Tambako The Jaguar
