World’s Best Animal Parks
There are many factors that threaten the survival of endangered animals. Fires, deforestation, oil spills, pollution, climate change and urbanization are some common causes of habitat destruction that jeopardizes many of the earth’s creatures. Animals like rats, kangaroos, cats, pigs or insects that are introduced to a new environment can eventually lead to a ripple effect, as can intense predation. The illicit animal trade and big game hunting business has also depleted a number of rare animals. Disease, rabies, viruses and pathogens have been known to kill off entire colonies and packs in the past as well. Since there are so many contributors to extinction, there must be multiple approaches to save endangered species.
The Sumatran tiger is one of the world’s most endangered animals, particularly because they are highly coveted in the world of poaching and their habitat is rapidly being destroyed by the logging industry. The island’s nature preserve houses 100 tigers but the poachers have managed to find their way into the park to kill. Three similar breeds of tiger — the Bali, the Java and the Trinil — have already gone extinct. It is believed that there are less than 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild. Similarly, the Siberian tiger has been whittled down to less than 200 existing in the wild. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has 1,000 tigers in their breeding programs, which has female tigers birthing several cubs each year.
Another one of the most endangered species in the world is the orangutan, which experts warn could be extinct within 10 to 20 years. In 2006, 1,000 apes were killed in raging forest fires that swept Indonesia; not to mention that 80% of their habitat has been destroyed by palm oil/bio-fuel loggers and farmers. Now only small pockets of orangutan exist in Borneo and Sumatra. Their numbers have dwindled from 300,000 to 50,000, with 5,000 of these endangered animals perishing each year. “Orangutans are in catastrophic decline and everything that is being done to protect them is not up to the challenge,” explained Ape Alliance chairman Ian Redmond. “It is all looking pretty bleak.”
“It’s sad to see in my lifetime the loss of so many species. It’s like watching the end of the world in slow motion,” said Donna Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo. In Buffalo, NY there are captive breeding and resettlement programs for 28 endangered species, including the snow leopard, Indian rhino, Siberian tiger, Puerto Rican Crested Toad and Golden Lion Tamarin. “I sometimes wish I could time travel back 200 years ago, and see the world the way it was,” she sighs, referring to the numerous endangered animals who have already met their end — including the Vancouver Island wolverine, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, the Dusky Seaside sparrow and the Bay Spring salamander, which have gone extinct since 1960. Fernandes adds, “I’m hoping people will realize there is hope if they take an active role in changing their behavior, and in supporting organizations trying to halt extinction.”
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