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How to Save Endangered Species
Causes of Endangerment
–
Top Five Reasons
A. Loss of habitat
One
of
the
greatest
causes of
animal
endangerment
is the
loss
of
habitat.
There
just
isn’t
any
place for them to live
where they are safe, can find food or can raise
their young. Some of the
causes of loss
habitat are human activities that destroy the
natural landscape.
Activities
like
logging
destroys
habitat
by
removing
trees
that
are
food
and
shelter
for
many
species. Mining is
another cause of habitat destruction as some
mountains and valleys are totally
de-
vegetated.
Agriculture is another major
cause of lost habitat. Not only is more land being
used to grow crops
all the time, but
the pesticides uses to grow these crops run off
the land polluting streams and
lakes.
B. Over-hunting
Over-hunting
or over-harvesting, as it is also called, is
having a devastating impact on animals and
fish all over the planet. As the human
population grows, so does the demand for more
food.
Hunting some species in certain
areas can be beneficial because when the ratio of
predator and
prey animals is out of
balance; if there are many prey animals they can
starve. But many animal
species are
hunted or harvested in such large numbers that
their species will not survive.
C.
Pollution
Pollution
if
found
in
many
forms:
air
pollution,
water
pollution
and
waste
pollution
which
is
mostly
plastic.
Air
pollution
is
caused
by
city
traffic,
coal
burning
power
plants
and
various
chemical
industries.
Particles
are
lifted
into
the
air
causing
health
problems
to
animals
and
humans.
Another very serious
affect of air-born pollution is when the particles
attach to rain droplets or
snow and
fall back to earth. This is called acid rain, and
the impacts have been experienced all
over the world.
Acid rain
changes the pH balance of the water and soil
making it difficult for plants and animals
to
survive.
Fish
have
experienced
total
die-offs
over
industrial
regions
where
acid
rain
is
the
worst.
Water
pollution is also responsible for killing plants,
animals and fish all over the world. There are
many
causes
of
water
pollution
including
runoff
from
farms
that
contain
fertilizers,
herbicides
and large amounts
of animal feces.
Industries
all
over
the
world
contaminate
the
water
with
chemicals
and
petroleum
products.
Municipal water drained from cities
also has many compounds and pollutants in it even
though it
is filtered through large
water treatment plants.
There are many
substances that cannot be
filtered out
of the water such as certain chemicals,
prescription medicines and caffeine
that human consume and then pass through their
systems
into the water. All of these
things cause problems for fish and wildlife o the
planet.
Garbage is another major
problem for animals, birds and fish. Among all the
trash humans throw
away
very
day,
plastic
is
the
worst.
It
can
take
hundreds
of
years
for
some
types
of
plastic
to
finally break down completely.
Plastic is mistaken for food by
animals, birds and fish. They eat the plastic not
realizing what it is
and it fills their
stomachs. These creatures die from the chemicals
in the plastic or they die of
starvation when their stomachs are so
full of plastic they cannot longer digest any
food.