The Tree Of Life Is Dying | Teen Ink

The Tree Of Life Is Dying

January 8, 2014
By Jake Stout BRONZE, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Jake Stout BRONZE, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Death. No one likes it. So why do animals have to suffer. Pandas. Sumatran Tigers. Rhinos. And the Hawksbill turtle. All these animals are endangered animals, and they might be gone tomorrow. How many endangered animals do you know? Ten? Twenty? Maybe thirty? A lot people know none. Some people don’t know or care about these animals. That is not acceptable.
To be endangered means to be seriously at risk of extinction. There are many animals at risk of this. This is not good. This is not acceptable. This is not right. We must do something.
Humans are the main cause of endangered species. A few ways that humans endanger animals are by hunting and poaching, pollution, overfishing and deforestation. The mammoth was a very thriving species till humans killed them. Many others meet the same fate and in the same way. Is this really what you want for other animals?
What if one species of animals died, for example a shrimp? The shrimp is a food source for many creatures including some crabs and humans to name a few. These animals might starve because the shrimp is gone. So what if a predator died like the hawksbill turtle then the turtle’s favorite food - jelly fish would overrun the ocean. Many humans would be hurt and lots of fish species will decrease.
So you see if one endangered animal dies, then the whole ecosystem is out of balance and at risk. Every animal has a purpose. So the ecosystem and every animal in it needs to be there. We need to save endangered species.
What if one animal died? What if populations increased? What if populations decreased? Do you care about the endangered species of animals that are dying? You should, every animal has a purpose in the environment and they are all intertwined.
People might argue that we need to expand and grow by taking land from animals. Though I am pretty sure a human would not want their home to be taken away and the human left to suffer and find a way to thrive. When people take from the land they are endangering animals and making them at risk of extinction. Humans might not know it but they are endangering animals all of the time.
Why do we need to have every animal, why does every fly matter? Why out of so many animals does one matter? Every animal has a purpose and a function in the ecosystem. They have a life too. So they need to have a chance. When a species goes extinct that is a huge blow to not only the ecosystem but the creatures who inhabit it, it dramatically affects everything. That is why we must save endangered animals from the fate of many before them who have gone extinct.
Many many people do not care about what happens to animals. I am sure humans would care if they were endangered. As many animals become endangered, nothing seems to help them. The clouded leopard, a skillful hunter, is critically endangered though people don’t seem to care. I asked my ELA teacher, Mr Saveriano, if he knew the clouded leopard and he didn’t know of it. So many people don’t know and that is what is devastating many animals. The others teachers I asked didn’t know any of the other endangered animals. Out of ten teachers none of them knew of any of the animals I asked about. That might be why many animals aren’t being helped. This just shows how many people don’t know so we must raise awareness of endangered animals so they can be saved. The clouded leopard is not gone yet so there is still time to save them. If we do not act this Himalayan hunter will be gone tomorrow.
Humans, brilliant yet deadly to animals, are the main cause of endangered animals. Humans made guns and guns lead to poaching and poaching led to endangered species.
The rhino, one of the most incredible animals, will be gone. The humans have caused so much to rhinos so now the rhino species is now almost extinct.
People can change the fate of endangered animals if we just try. Most animals, no all animals can’t help themselves from going extinct. With all the threats from humans it must be hard. The fish and marine life can be polluted and destroyed that leaves moray eels, sharks, and hundreds of fish dead. The forest, that is home to monkeys and jaguars, it is being destroyed. Humans are the root cause of endangered animals. It is devastating. The earth (if it could speak) would not have wanted so many animals to be endangered. Bees make honey for humans, dogs are our companions. Humans only want to save the animals that they need or like. But every animal has reason to be on this planet. So when they are taken from the habitat that they live in it can be very bad. Although, people can change this. I donate 8 dollars a month to save the polar bears an animal that is dying because of global warming( another problem caused by people). So people need to save animals. The polar bear can be saved. The ice might be melting but the polar bear should not go extinct for a problem that we have caused.
The scimitar-horned oryx in 1994 was endangered.
In 1996 it was critically endangered.
Then in 2000 it was extinct in the wild.
This is what we need to stop endangered animals so that there will never again be animals going extinct.
The grizzly bear was a protected species in the year 1975. They gained more population and they were taken off the endangered species list in 2007. Then 2 years later they added back on the endangered species list. This shows how in a short time a population of stable animals can be reduced to nothing.
The population of once stable ocean life is going down because of pollution, coastal development, over fishing, invasive species, and climate change. Invasive species can be caused by humans like the anaconda an invasive species in florida. The invasive species can hunt the native Species and endanger them. Another invasive species is the lionfish.
As more and more animals die nothing seems to happen though we can change that. We can set up conservation programs to protect animals from poaching and we can raise money for critically endangered animals. As more animals die their branch on the tree of life is withering away and when one animal dies it’s future generations are gone and it is devastating to not just the ecosystem that they live in but everything around them even humans. The enjoyment of having polar bears might not be around for long. Everything is connected and you may not believe me but every living animal is related, a cow is related to a worm, a rat is related to elephant, and a moray eel is related to you. They are very different looking though we all originated from a common ancestor, though we just branched off from others. You might think you have a connection to endangered species, but do you?



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