Endangered species
and why they matter
Many types of plants and animals are in danger of
being wiped out before we even know how important they might be to our own
health and prosperity.
What does “endangered species”
mean? We sometimes tell children that it means "SPECIal
plants and animals IN DANGER." Technically endangered species are those
officially listed as endangered by such organizations as the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature, U.S. Government, State of Texas, etc. But
there are other categories of listing, such as "threatened," and
there certainly are animals that are in danger in the long run, even if they
aren't currently listed.
Many assume that a species is endangered simply becayse there aren't many of the animal or plant. This is
often true, but there can be other reasons for listing, too. Even a numerous
species may be in danger, if it lives in a small area (such as the Komodo Dragon) or some people are making a concerted effort to kill
it off (such as the African elephant and rhino).
Why do species become
endangered or extinct? People who don’t care what happens to plants and
animals often like to point out that extinction is normal. While this is true,
something else is also true that these people rarely mention: extinction is
also infrequent unless some disaster causes a “mass extinction event.” In all
the history of life on Earth, there have been only five such events,
caused by major cataclysms such as worldwide volcanic activity and/or asteroids
hitting the Earth.
Unfortunately, a sixth mass extinction is now under
way and this one is caused entirely by human beings. There is uncertainty over
how fast the wipe-out is moving, but biologists agree that the current
extinction rate is much higher than the normal background rate.
That normal rate may be 1 species per year or 1 per
century, depending on what expert you hear. The current rate is unknown, partly
because we don’t even know how many species there are. But estimates run as
high as 50-150 species per day. In short, humans are killing anywhere from 100
to several thousand times as many animals per year, as nature normally does.
By 2050 or 2,100, over two-thirds of species that
were on Earth in 1950 could be gone.
Just how are we committing this mass murder of our
fellow travelers on Earth?
(1) Habitat
loss. People destroy animals' homes, food, breeding places, etc., when
we expand our own cities, farms, etc.
(2) Pollution.
Examples: global die-off of frogs and frogs with extra legs may be due to
direct contact with chemicals or to ozone depletion (caused by pollution). On
Hudson Bay, polar bear weights and cub survival rates are down, perhaps due to
the pesticides in seal bodies (picked up from fish that get them from run-off
into sea) or global warming that melts ice shelves the bears use to reach seals
(global warming is due to pollution).
(3) Hunting.
Examples: poaching of elephants and rhinos for profit, hunting of bushmeat for food (even chimpanzees and bats), overfishing of many seafood species, persecution of
predators such as wolves and cheetahs due to exaggerated fears of their effects
on livestock, persecution of other creatures (bats, aye-ayes, etc.) due to
false disease fears and superstitions, and capturing of animals (monkeys,
parrots, reptiles) for pet trade.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE IF
SPECIES BECOME EXTINCT? Because:
(a) Usefulness
to people. Endangered species may hold food, medicine or industrial
products (e.g., wild plant genes to fortify crops against disease, rosy
periwinkle from Madagascar that yielded cancer drug for Hodgkins
disease and some leukemias with 98 percent remission
rate, African clawed frog that yielded new antibiotic class, rubber plants and
newly discovered plants that may make good building materials or provide fuel).
Have you ever seen "The Medicine Man"? If not, make a point of seeing
it. Sean Connery plays scientist racing against time to find a cancer cure in a
small patch of jungle, while the smoke columns of the roadbuilders
get closer every day.
(b) Balance
of nature. This means beneficial things that animals and plants do
naturally, if humans just leave them alone. Scientists call these things “ecosystem
services,” and they may be worth $30 trillion a year, more than all human
economic activity combined. A species that goes extinct may play a role we
don't even know about and cause a chain-reaction catastrophe. Examples: hunters
wiped out fishers, a weasel-like animal, in the Northwest U.S. over a century
ago. Then lumber industry almost collapsed because an exploding porcupine
population girdled trees. They had to import fishers from Canada to regain
control over the porcupines. Coyotes eat rats that would otherwise eat grass
seed, depriving livestock of feed...so coyote is really rancher/farmer's
friend! Bats eat bugs. Bracken Cave bats alone are estimated to save Texas
farmers $100 million a year in crop losses and pesticide costs. Each toad is worth
$20 a year to farmers (in 1956 dollars!). Vanilla beans now cost $8 apiece
because insect that pollinated vanilla plants went extinct and people must now
hand-pollinate. Many bat and bird species pollinate plants (including wild
versions of key human fruit crops) or spread seeds. Finally, plants make oxygen
and clean air/water.
(c) Spiritual
values. This may the most important reason of all. The world would be
colder, lonelier and uglier without a variety of life. Who wants to live in a
world where the only birds are grackles and pigeons? Humans need the beauty of
biodiversity as much as they need food.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? The
following ideas are worded for kids, but they are equally valid for adults.
(a) Learn.
Ask your parents and teachers questions and ask them where to get information.
Read books and magazines: go to the library. There are excellent television
nature shows on PBS, Discovery and Animal channels and often on others. "Kratz' Kreatures" is
especially good for kids. Borrow tapes from the library. For kids with
computers, there are excellent nature-related CD-ROMs and interactive games.
Start a backyard lab at home or ask your teachers to start one at school.
Teachers can get help from many organizations, such as Bexar Audubon Society, Natural
Initiatives, Texas Parks and Wildlife, etc. Visit the zoo, of course, but don't
just glance at the animals...really watch them, read the signs, talk to docents
and keepers, and then go home and read or watch videos about the animals you
saw.
(b) Teach.
Pass what you learn on to parents, teachers, friends and neighbors. Most
grown-ups will listen when kids know what they're talking about and can say
where they learned it.
(c) Join
organizations. Many school, local and national organizations focus on nature.
Just being in the groups helps, because large membership lists impress
politicians who want to sway voters. (They don't know who can vote.) With most
groups, part of the dues goes directly for research, lobbying for animal
protection or to help animals. Almost all send our excellent magazines or
newsletters. Many will tell you how to help (most ask for extra money, of
course, but many also tell you how you can help, such as writing letters to
politicians. Never under-estimate the impact of a heartfelt
child's letter.
(d) Conserve
resources and keep the environment clean. In daily life, do all you can
to save resources. Don't waste water or electricity.
Recycle whenever you can. Tell cashiers you don't need bags if you only buy one
or two items. Dispose of trash pro-perly because
trash (especially plastic bags and 6-pack rings) is dangerous to animals, who often choke on them. Cut 6-pack rings and dispose of all plastics in sealed containers (if you cannot
recycle). Participate in volunteer clean-up days.
(e) Never
harm or catch a wild animal. Wild animals don't make good pets, and
every one taken from the wild is one less to keep the wild population healthy.
Some Texas wildlife you see may be endangered or at least rare, so it's important
to have as many in the wild as possible. If you see an injured animal or one
that seems to be orphaned, don't grab it or disturb it. Keep pets and other
humans away, while you ask an adult to call a responsible non-profit wildlife
rescue-organization for advice. They will tell you how to help and send a
trained rescuer if necessary.
(f) Control
dogs and cats. If you want a pet, adopt a lonely dog or cat from an
animal shelter. Spay/neuter your dogs and cats, so that there won't be more
homeless animals. Never let dogs and cats run loose (ask them if they know why,
before pointing out that stray and abandoned pets kill billions of wild animals
a year...it's not the dogs' or cats' fault: they're just behaving
naturally...it's humans' job to prevent this damage).
(g) Raise
money for nature. There are many ways young people can raise money for
nature and wildlife, by donating to responsible organizations,
"adopting" zoo animals, etc. It is easiest and best to do this
through school/youth organizations, but individuals can help. If every child
raised $1 a year, that would be tens of millions for habitat and species
protection.
(h) Create
habitat for creatures. Many birds, insects and small creatures can
thrive in your backyard or school. You can create good homes for them by
building wildlife-friendly gardens, with parents' or teachers' approval. Texas
Parks and Wildlife and Natural Initiatives can provide information.
(i) Promise never to forget you love animals. Sometimes when people
grow up, they get busy making money and they forget how they used to care about
animals. Make a promise to yourself and to nature that you won't forget.
(j) Consider
an environmental career. There are lots of wonderful jobs for people who
want to protect and foster nature. You can be a scientist, environmental
lawyer, organizer, wildlife rehabilitator, zookeeper, biology teacher,
forester, nature writer, nature film-maker, pollution-control chemist, or any
one of dozens of other jobs. You won't get rich in most of these jobs, but you
can have the greatest reward of all -- the beauty of nature and satisfaction of
knowing you helped to save it.
One final point. You have
probably heard of the Endangered Species
Act, but the chances are everything you think you know about it is wrong.
That’s because a huge amount of false information has been published about it
by people who want to profit from destroying species and their habitats.
The ESA is only one of several laws that protect
plants and animals, including the Wetlands Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Many people fear all of these acts because they wrongly think these laws stop
economic activity and destroy jobs. In fact, the ESA affects only a tiny
percentage of projects, almost all involving federal money or permits, and
almost all of which are only delayed, not blocked. The ESA actually protects
jobs by protecting the environment that the economy depends on. What happens to
fishermen if we kill all the fish? The ESA does not keep people from using their land, though some owners may need
to be more careful how they use it. (For more on the ESA controversy and why it
is unjustified, see our essay in the conservation section entitled “The Endangered
Species Act.”)
If anyone thinks these are bad laws, they should read
more to find out what they really say. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas
Parks and Wildlife can provide information. Above all, stress that these laws
work: the alligator, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, whooping crane, brown
pelican, osprey, river otter, gray whale and several kinds of fish and sea
turtles have come back from near-extinction due to protection. But they aren't
totally safe yet and many other species are still in peril. One source says 250
species of animals and plants have become extinct in the U.S. since 1980. So
laws are still needed.