From a selfish point of view, we humans never know how valuable a species of animal or plant may be for us in the future, perhaps as food, medicines particularly plants or for specific information such as for biomimicry. Endangered Animals of the World. Is it Important to Save Animals from Extinction? Read More: Saving Endangered Animals. Let us use the tiger as an example. Many subspecies of tiger have gone extinct over the past several centuries and most, if not all, the remaining subspecies are still at risk of extinction in some measure.
They are hunted for their meat, their hide, and as pets. Their habitat has slowly disappeared thanks to logging, farming, and human population growth. Even climate change is having an adverse effect on these animals. Most times, tigers are at the apex of their respective food chain.
When the top animal in a food chain dies off, the entire ecosystem is in jeopardy. More herbivores mean fewer plants, fewer plants mean less oxygen, and so on. Let us not forget the smallest pieces of an ecosystem either. From providing cures to deadly diseases to maintaining natural ecosystems and improving overall quality of life, the benefits of preserving threatened and endangered species are invaluable. When the U. In order to be listed as a candidate, a species has to qualify for protected status under the Endangered Species Act.
Whether or not a species is listed as endangered or threatened then depends on a number of factors, including the urgency and whether adequate protections exist through other means.
When deciding whether a species should be added to the Endangered Species List, the following criteria are evaluated:. If the answer to one or more of the above questions is yes, then the species can be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Once a species becomes listed as "threatened" or "endangered," it receives special protections by the federal government. A listed plant is protected if on federal property or if federal actions are involved, such as the issuing of a federal permit on private land. The term "take" is used in the Endangered Species Act to include "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
The primary goal of the Endangered Species Act is to make species' populations healthy and vital so they can be delisted from the Endangered Species Act. Under the Endangered Species Act, the U. The two organizations actively invest time and resources to help bring endangered or threatened species back from the brink of extinction.
Endangered Species Day, which falls on the third Friday in May each year, is a day to celebrate endangered species success stories and learn about species still in danger. Those species whose lives are on the line could potentially save your life down the road. Biological diversity has been vital to the development of all types of medicine. Fish and Wildlife Service. What we do know is that some of the animals on the verge of extinction harbor definitive medicinal resources.
For example, the blood of a particular type of horseshoe crab that's on the decline due to overfishing has been used to detect harmful bacteria in medical devices and drugs. And an experimental drug derived from the saliva of Gila monsters, a venomous lizard in the Southwestern U.
There is no better way to track the health of our ecosystems and the species that live in them than through living organisms. For instance, freshwater mussels that filter water from the ocean are often the first to signal pollution issues, and the drop in population of peregrine falcons alerted the world to the dangers of DDT. These creatures often serve as "canaries in the coal mine," alerting us to dangerous environmental conditions when we would never realize otherwise.
If these species go extinct , we lose these essential and natural monitors of our environment.
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