Dinosaurs once roamed our Earth freely but these beasts have now become extinct. A lot of other animals are nearing this same point. If these other animals also become extinct we will have to teach future generations about these beautiful beasts through stories, pictures, and museum displays, much the same as we do now with the dinosaurs. In some cases, it is scary to think of the small numbers that some of these animals are left roaming freely throughout their habitats. Most of them have succumbed to humans who have hunted them, lost habitats because we move into their area and a few have been lost because of our global climate changes. Here is a list of the top 10 endangered species that have most suffered because of these factors and the truth about how small their numbers truly are.
10. Leatherback Sea Turtle
Back in 1982 there were around 115,000 of these monster turtles spread throughout the waters of Earth. By the late 1990s there were fewer than 30,000 and their numbers continue to drop rapidly due to humans stealing their eggs, hunters hunting them, and they have lost their habitat with so many people moving onto the beaches. They are also suffering from the same global climate changes that impact a lot of other animal species as well as debris that gets into the ocean. For the turtle a piece of plastic that is floating along is often mistaken for food, and then it kills them.
9. Hawaiian Monk Seal
No one really knows what is happening to this animal or why they are disappearing off the beaches of Hawaii but the fact remains that they are indeed disappearing. There are less than a thousand of them alive today. One theory that scientists have is that fishermen are cutting down their food supply and the changes in the oceans condition could be the main problem for them. Then if you consider the fishing nets they may get caught in, diseases and fishing gear, you can easily see how hard it is for these seals to survive.
8. The Mountain Gorilla
In east central Africa is where you would once find most of these beautiful gorillas. They have lost most of their home to illegal timber harvesting as well as their lives to those people who hunt them illegally. Over the last two decades conservationists and their efforts have paid off. They are breeding them successfully and their numbers are growing. This does not mean they are out of the woods yet, still there are less than 700 in the wild.
7. The Saola
This animal is so rare now that it is commonly called the Asian Unicorn. There are only several hundred of these remaining in the wild around several isolated areas in the tropical forests between Vietnam and Laos. They are so rare that they were not even discovered until 1992 and since that time, researchers have only had the opportunity to view them a few times. In the last 15 years, only one has been seen via camera and no humans have seen one.
6. Siberian Tiger
This cold weather loving tiger lives in the coldest regions of Russia, China and Korea. They were hunted often by humans and by the 1930s there were only around 40 left in the wild. Thankfully, with protection efforts their numbers have grown but there are still only around 500 living freely in the wild where they roam. This is still due mostly to human hunters and habitat loss.
5. Northern Right Whale
Due to the fact that people use to hunt this whale for oils and such combined with the fact that they drown after becoming trapped in nets, lines and other things that humans put into the ocean this whale is perhaps one of the most endangered whale species in the world. This means you will not see many of them along the Atlantic coast of America and Canada the way you once would have. Now there are only about 350 still swimming there.
4. The Kakapo Parrot
The flightless bird once called the New Zealand home. It is one of the heaviest types of parrots alive and weighs in at about nine pounds. It is also most active during the nighttime hours. This parrot was once thought to be totally extinct due to the introduction of cats and rats which would kill the animals while they were still in their nest. However, islands off the coast of New Zealand do still hold what few remain, which is only about 150 in the wild.
3. Javan Rhinoceros
Research shows that there are probably less than 60 of these rhinoceros still alive today on the western tip of Java Island in Indonesia. It was hunted by poachers for its horn which is used to make medication. They are protected by conservationists but many people worry that perhaps there is not enough of them left that can breed which could lead to a total extinction.
2. Amur Leopard
Already extinct in Korea and northern China, these rare beauties are now only found in the north eastern part of Russia. They have lost their homes due to civilians moving into their area, poaching and unfortunately the overall global climate changes. As of 2007 there were less than 30 of these beautiful cats still in the wild. With any luck their numbers have grown, but there is no proof that it has.
1. Northern Sportive Lemur
All species of Lemurs are on the list of endangered species because total there are only about 100 lemurs total left in the wild. However, this one is perhaps the closest to extinction. You will find the remaining few located only on the tip of Madagascar. This two pound, round eyed, lemur is very high on the endangered species list because research shows there are probably less than twenty still alive in the wild today.
If you could find a way to prevent these animals from going into extinction, would you do it? Would you want your great grandkids to never see a giant turtle or a Siberian tiger at the zoo? It is not too late to help some of these animals but you must start trying to help them now. Support conservation efforts and keep waters as well as forests cleaner.
