Jacqueline MahaboobInstructor: Gretchen PrattUWRT110204/20/15Dwindling PopulationsGoing on a safari exploration is high up on my bucket list, but there is one big problem, what animals will be left to see in the next 25 years? Many of the exotic and majestic creatures of the wild are being killed off at a rapid rate or scared into hiding every day due to many different preventable factors. So before planning your future exotic adventure a few things to consider are whether or not extinction is preventable, or will the endangered and threatened animal populations continue to dwindle. Ive outlined a few ways we can counteract the continuously dwindling animal populations.Why should we care about extinction?The reason that this is an important issue for humans to be concerned with because animals are a part of our environment and the nature surrounding us impacts our lives in many serious ways that we seem to forget. Various animals are needed to keep the food chains going, without some species of animals plants cannot be efficiently pollinated. Two big issues will come from plants not being able to grow properly. One of the main issues is that plants take in carbon dioxide and give us back clean oxygen that we need to breathe. Over time a lack in clean oxygen can cause serious health issues for most people. Another important problem is that new plants wont be able to grow and herbivores will experience a loss in food supply. A lack of food for these animals can result in a dying off of a species which will cause a chain reaction for carnivorous animals that obtain their food from the plant eating animals. This will over time, and surely have a negative outcome for us because we eat some of these animals to survive. Although it may seem there are only a few ways that animals impact our lives but it seems as though most of us forget these essential roles they play in our lives on a day to day basis.

How are we causing these animals to become endangered?It is a shocking that all of this is happening right under our noses yet very few of us stop to realize what is going on and that we are the ones to blame for extinction. This is understandable though, for most people if something isnt happening in their immediate life the thought will never cross their mind. Humans are impacting animals from very small ways to pretty serious means. That relaxing morning run though a walking trail in the woods causes a disturbance to the animals that live there. Christopher Soloman discusses this issue in his article called Leaving Only Footsteps? Think Again. In this article he talks about how outdoor recreation and tourism are the fourth- leading reason that species are considered threatened or endangered. This is just a small way we are disturbing our surrounding nature, more serious ways are explained in What Causes Species to Become Endangered? In this she talks about several major factors such as habitat destruction, wildlife trafficking, and legal exploitation. Each of these issues are caused by man and can be stopped by man. Habitat destruction is so common in the present day because people want to own more land so they can build huge houses or businesses but none of them are thinking about what is already living on that piece of land. Legal exploitation is another issue where there is little that can be done to stop it. Because hunting of certain animals is legal in specific places and during certain times of the year it is already being regulated. (Bove) But how strictly are the regulations being enforced? This is hard to regulate because it would require constant surveillance of all areas where protected wildlife inhabit. It seems as though proper regulation is impossible and that is possibly a reason why it isnt as seriously regulated as it should be. How can we help prevent extinction?So now that we know about some of the ways we are hurting our wildlife we can stop and think about what we can do to help prevent this from continuing at the rapid rate that it is. In the US law officials have been taking an interest in dealing with the issue of illegal hunting. In an online article called Obama Administration Plans to Aggressively Target Wildlife Trafficking the writer informs the reader that the Obama Administration has recently introduced a new and aggressive plan to eliminate traffickers who make an estimated $20 billion a year from selling endangered animals. This plan states that it will put more pressure on Asian countries to seize buying and selling of illegal products to countries all over the world. Only about 10% of traffickers are caught by law enforcement which is why the new approach is to take the profit out of this illegal activity and the issue will lessen on its own. (Nixon) In the book Animals on the Edge the author informs the reader about new research that some scientists are doing and how modern technology can help reduce the amount of endangered species. Scientists are using captive breeding programs to increase the populations of animals that are threatened or endangered. This not only will help increase their numbers it will help with the issue of inbreeding that is weakening the gene pools. (Pobst) A small way that each individual household can help is by making sure they keep their land clean and leave room for wild life to share too. If large numbers of consumers refrain from buying those exotic animal fur rugs to decorate the home or alligator skin boots to show off the manufacturers and poachers will not need to kill these animals to provide goods to their customers and populations as a whole can begin to rise.

An Extraordinary Example: the CheetahCheetahs are one of the most fascinating animals in Africa due to their incredible speed, strength and intelligence. They are known for being the fastest land mammal, reaching a max speed of 72 mph and coving a large distance of 25 feet in a single stride. Although this amazing species is equipped with a talent that should allow them to get out of any dangerous situation, they cannot outrun a bullet. Man is the cheetahs biggest threat due to poaching, protecting livestock, and deforestation. Thankfully conservation efforts are on a rise in Africa for this specific species. The Namibian based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) has been working on educating farmers to refrain from killing lurking cheetahs to protect their livestock and to call the CCF to come remove it from the premises or to acquire a dog from the Livestock Guardian Dog Program that will provide the farmer with Anatolian dogs that ward off cheetahs. Another new tactic that is being used is the Controlled Taste Aversion, this method works by the farmers injecting their cattle with a chemical that tastes repulsive to a cheetah which will eventually lead them to prey on a different herd of animals. In Southern Africa several breeding conservations for cheetahs have been established in an effort to raise the population of cheetahs. The De Wildt Cheetah Research Center in South Africa was established around 25 years ago and has since breed 50 cheetahs successfully. The Cheetah Action Trust (CAT) is another organization that is working hard to protect cheetahs. They are attempting this by searching for and creating conservation areas that resemble a natural habitat for cheetahs to live as if they were not really in captivity. The CAT hopes that providing a safe space for them to hunt and teach their young to survive in a similar habitat will help increase the number of cheetahs that are successfully reproduced in captivity as well as help increase the number of cheetahs that survive after being released into the wild. Sadly, all of these efforts are not enough help to keep the cheetahs from going extinct. The cheetah population at the turn of the century was about 100,000 but by 1980 the population had been reduced down to about 25,000. (Urbaniak) As the human population continues to grow the habitat for these amazing animals will continue to shrink. Without active participation and extensive education of all surrounding people, cheetahs and many other animals will eventually wither away into extinction.

Can extinction really be prevented?After considering all of this information, do you think it is possible for extinction to be prevented? According to the book The End of the Wild the author talks about how human domination of the process of natural selection has led us to the issues we have with extinction and endangered animals now. He states that he believes that it is too late for us to try to save the wilderness but that we should still attempt to do what we can to not make it much worse. He concludes with We have lost the wild for now. Perhaps in five or ten million years it will return. (Meyer) I believe that with a bit of hard work from everyone we can save many of the animals that live in fear today. Zoos and animal conservations can work to increase controlled populations of endangered and threatened animals to slow down, and hopefully prevent their extinction. Scientists now have information and technology that can help create a plan and environment for endangered species to be raised in captivity, but keeping these populations alive in the wild after being released requires help from local people of the environment. The more people known about what has been, can be, and should be done, the more we can work to save the creatures that roamed our planet well before us. They were here first, dont they deserve to stay?

Bibliography:Bove, Jennifer. "What Causes Species to Become Endangered?"About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.Meyer, Stephen M.The End of the Wild. Somerville, MA: Boston Review, 2006. Print.Nixon, Ron. "Obama Administration Plans to Aggressively Target Wildlife Trafficking."The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.Pobst, Sandy.Animals on the Edge: Science Races to save Species Threatened with Extinction. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2008. Print.Solomon, Christopher. "Leaving Only Footsteps? Think Again."The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.Urbaniak, Joseph. "TED Case Studies." Case Study. N.p., 5 May 1998. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. .