Endangered+Species



Endangered species are organisms that are in danger of disappearing from the face of the earth if their situation is not improved.

There are four different steps towards extinction: rare, threatened, endangered and extinct. Rare animals are species with small populations that may be at risk. If they remain at risk, then the next step is to be threatened; meaning they may soon become endangered. I already defined earlier what endangered species are; and those species are in the third and crucial point just prior to extinction. Finally, a race is considered extinct when it has not been seen in the wild for over fifty years.

How could this happen? Simple: animals evolve the same way we do; meaning they adapt to their ever-changing environment. Those who cannot adapt eventually disappear, a phenomenon we know as “Natural Selection” or “Survival of the fittest”. That is all well and good when it is a natural process.

And here is the KEY word: //NATURAL.// Unfortunately, today the environment is changing at a much quicker pace than before. And it is NOT a natural process. Pollution caused by mankind’s careless treatment of our beloved planet is causing changes so fast that the animals simply can’t keep up. And as if that was not enough, these poor beings also have to deal with destruction of their habitat, commercial exploitation, and damage caused by non-native plants and animals introduced into an area. Of all these causes, it is the destruction of the natural habitat that endangers the most species. So many animals have already been wiped out. The only certainty here is the need to act quickly, remember that once endangered species become extinct, they are gone FOREVER.

Here are the top 10 most endangered species, according to World Wildlife Fund:


 * 1. The Tiger**


 * 2. The Polar Bear**




 * 3. The Pacific Walrus**


 * 4. The Magellanic Penguin**


 * 5. The Leatherback Turtle**


 * 6. The Bluefin Tuna**


 * 7. The Mountain Gorilla**


 * 8. The Monarch Butterfly**


 * 9. The Javan Rhinoceros**


 * 10. The Giant Panda**