During these strange and hard COVID-19 times we may not have the means to make monetary donations to charities that help endangered animals. But this doesn't mean we can no longer help save these animals.
Here are some scary facts demonstrating the importance of helping endangered animals, and ways we can help save different endangered animals in our everyday lives without spending any money.
"Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation", according to National Geographic. Both can occur naturally but humans are having a great impact on these two factors as well. Overhunting, overfishing, monoculture, housing development, and deforestation are examples of ways humans are negatively impacting animal habitats and genetic variation.
"The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate”, says WWF.
Before species become extinct, they are gradually classified as vulnerable (high risk of extinction), endangered (very high risk of extinction), and then critically endangered (extremely high risk of extinction). A critically endangered species has a 50% risk of extinction within ten years or three generations, as you can see in the table below.
The Tasmanian tiger, the Zanzibar leopard, and the West African black rhino are examples of animals that have sadly already become extinct. Currently, there are approximately 16’000 endangered animals in the world.
WWF states: "Unlike the mass extinction events of geological history, the current extinction challenge is one for which a single species - ours - appears to be almost wholly responsible."
Sea Turtle
There are seven types of sea-turtles all of which are endangered, some even critically endangered. One major issue for sea turtles is getting caught in fishing nets and pollution of their marine environment. One simple way you can help sea turtles is by Taking 3 For The Sea. Every time you go to the beach or park try to pick up three pieces of rubbish and throw them in the bin.
Bees
The world’s bee population has dropped by a third since 2013. As bees feed on the nectar of flowers, land clearing of wildflowers leads to food source loss. By planting more flowers in our gardens we can increase their amount of food sources and over a period of time, the bee population will increase too.
Orangutan
These apes behave similarly to humans so it's no wonder that we share 97% of our DNA with them. But one of our closest relatives is in grave danger as they are facing extinction. A century ago there were approximately 230’000 orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Now their population has more than halved. This is because much of their habitat is being deforested to make room for palm oil plantations. Palm oil, disguised as vegetable oil, sodium Laureth sulfate, or acetic acid, is often found in processed foods, toothpaste, and even shampoo. To help the orangutans try to avoid products containing palm oil or make sure it is RSPO approved. You can check if certain items do contain palm oil with the Palm Oil Scanner App.
Sumatran tiger
The Sumatran tiger is another critically endangered species, as there are less than 400 found in the wild. Similarly, to the orangutan, tigers have lost much of their habitat due to deforestation. To prevent extinction for these beautiful animals you can try to avoid palm oil as stated above and also reduce paper usage. When you do buy paper or timber make sure it is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. The Forest Stewardship Council promotes the sustainable management of forests.
Monarch Butterfly
There are a few reasons why the monarch population has declined by 99% since the 1980s. One of the reasons is climate change; as with warming temperatures the monarchs favoured plant, the milkweed, is becoming toxic for the monarch. Secondly, pesticides if ingested can be fatal for the monarch. However, one of the main reasons for their steep decline is habitat loss. Due to land clearing, there are fewer milkweeds for the monarch to lay its eggs on and feed on. To help the monarch survive you can start planting pretty milkweeds in your garden. Click here to find out which ones best suit your region in the US.
