Extinction reality

Written by Sarah Hau

I am willing to admit that I am what my husband calls, a bleeding heart. I am also an animal lover. This makes for a dangerous combination. I cry when I see the baby monkeys on the Discovery Channel, I once rescued a lost puppy from a grocery store parking lot. I have recently taken to tossing bread crumbs and nuts out my kitchen window for the local birds and squirrels.

My little friends aside, there is a bigger drama taking place in the animal world on a global scale. Last week experts released an updated list of the most endangered plants and animals on the planet, adding nearly 200 new species. This Red List now contains 16,306 species said to be threatened with extinction.

It broke my heart to learn that the total number of extinct species has now reached 785 and a further 65 species are only found in cultivation or captivity.

These are big numbers and this is a big problem. It becomes more personal when we meet the animals being affected.

This is the Western Lowland gorilla, found from Angola to DR Congo to Gabon. It was recently moved to the critically endangered list because large numbers had been lost to the Ebola virus and hunting of gorillas for “bushmeat”. Experts say that if something doesn’t change, we will lose these amazing creatures forever in 10-12 years.

The decline of the Yangtze River dolphin, also known as the Baiji, has come as a result of unrestricted development. No one has even seen one of these dolphins since 2002. It is now listed as critically endangered/possibly extinct. The majority of the sites I visited to research the dolphin were already saying their goodbyes to this ancient animal.

I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to hear about the plight of so many beautiful creatures on our earth and not feel frustrated that I can’t do enough to save them. I have never hunted for bushmeat or fished using electric shock on the Yangze river – and I don’t have the ability to re-educate those who do. But I do know that my life, and yours, is affected by the shrinking biodiversity. I am starting to consciously look for ways to be part of the solution and minimize my contribution to the problem.

How about you? Do you think we have an obligation to protect endangered species?

One Response to “Extinction reality”

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A Big “@&*# You” to Gorilla Poachers : Environmental News says:

December 1, 2007 at 7:12 am

[...] The Aspinall Foundation has reintroduced 14 gorillas into Gabon since 2002. They aim to re-establish a healthy population in the region as part of an effort to save the critically endangered Western gorilla from extinction. [...]