Lisa Serrano

Professor Ludwig
ENGL 101
31 May 2016
Endangered Species
Because of their research, scientists believe that Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.
During these billions of years, people have been able to adjust to many new environments and
technology. As people adapted, many animals have suffered the price. Their environments were
stripped and destroyed for the benefit of progress whether it was through deforestation or
through species becoming endangered. A total of 905 species vanish into extinction every year
due to global warming, industrialization, and hunting for sport; therefore humans will lose
valuable supplies such as food, clothes, and medicine. This can all be avoided with the use of
eco-friendly products, making poaching and deforestation illegal, and respecting nature as a
whole.
Earth is home to a diverse array of wildlife in habitats ranging from the rainforests, to the
deserts, to freshwater and the ocean. The biggest threat to the survival of Americas wildlife is
global warming. Due to global warming, many species of animals are becoming endangered
because they are losing their homes. For example, polar bears live in the Arctic. During the
summer, the ice begins to melt making it hard for polar bears to hunt which leads to starvation.
Another animal that is in harms way is a small mammal called a Pika. Pikas live in the Western
mountaintops. They are losing their homes, because as the temperature raises, Pikas travel into
higher altitudes till they find a tolerable alpine temperature. Soon, Pikas will have nowhere else

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to go with the temperature increase. Animals that migrate throughout seasons such as the
waterfowl are unable to find an acceptable habitat. They are changing their migration patterns as
well as ducks and geese, but are encountering more consequences. Since they are changing their
migration patterns, they travel into harsh weather conditions where they witness droughts and
floods. Viqi Wagner, author of Endangered Species, states that approximately 20-30% of plant
and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in
global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5 C (65). This quote shows that with temperature
change, many animals have to adjust to find living conditions that are suitable for their
personality.
Since people have been able to adapt to many new settings, they are able to build bigger
and better things to benefit themselves. Industrialization has risen, and with this, global
warming, pollution, and environmental degradation has been brought up. According to the U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialization contributes approximately 6.3 billion tons
of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Many animals such as marine life are unable to stand this
type of pollution and are dying at a rapid rate. This huge abundance of carbon dioxide not only
harms animals, but plants as well. Plants are a major food source to animals and when they are
threatened, animals struggle to acquire food for their own survival. Due to industrialization,
many animals are also losing their homes to make room for large-scale industrial farming and
human settlements. Since humans are developing more buildings, animals are forced to leave
their habitat and relocate. As humans advance, animals and humans are at war to find shelter and

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food. Additionally, the animals who were relocated lost their families and were forced to adapt to
new living habitats.
In todays society, humans are choosing to go out and hunt animals as a hobby. Kendall
Jones, a Texas cheerleader, hunts and kills Africas rarest species such as the white rhino, lion
and leopard. As a child, Kendall would watch her dad hunt but was too young to begin hunting.
While on a family trip to Zimbabwe, her father planned to hunt the Big 5 which includes the
elephant, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, lion and leopard. At the age of 13, Kendall killed her first
animal which was the White Rhino. The World Wildlife Fund states white rhinos are classified
as Near Endangered but theyre the only species of rhino that isnt endangered. They are easy
to hunt because they are not aggressive or wild in herds. By 14, she successfully hunted the Big
5. Not only did she manage to kill the Big 5, but she also managed to take down six of Africas
Dangerous 7. Since Kendall aims for the rare or endangered species, a petition was written to
ban Jones from returning to Africa. The petition was started by Kieron Brown and has received
more than 6,800 signatures and reads:
Kendall Jones is an American born hunter who has entered the continent and has been
hunting African wildlife under the facade of conservation. She has publicly stated that
she hopes to have a television hunting show and she is using endangered and helpless
African animals as a step to further her popularity on social media platforms.
She has already received much protest, peaceful or otherwise from a wide variety of
people from all over the world on her social profiles, and has, on those platforms, visibly
scoffed and shaken off those protests, claiming that protestors are misinformed, or simply
the sheep to her lion morals.

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With enough support globally we can take a step in the right direction with regards to
animal conservation, and help put an end to practices such as these, in hopes of
conserving what precious little is left of our natural world. (Kendall Jones)
Kendall Jones isnt the only hunter in the world; there are many more. This means that many
more species are being hunted just for fun rather than for primary needs.
Animals of all kinds have walked this Earth longer than humans have. Now, we are
hunting for fun, forcing them to find new environments, and polluting their water and killing any
source of food. Species are becoming endangered due to the needs of humans. Without humans,
animals would be able to roam freely in the wild rather than in cages for people to stare at, they
would be able to raise a family without the fear of hunters coming around, and they would be
able to find a variety of food since humans wouldnt take it. There are many ways that humans
could benefit the animals around us.
Eco-friendly products are products that do not harm the environment while they are being
made, used, or being disposed of. This could limit pollution that goes into the oceans or
contaminate the land. Plastic is known as the silent killer to many animals such as whales,
because many times they mistake plastic bags as squid. Many other aquatic life forms, when they
take in a mouthful of water during feeding, they take in trash by accident. Eco-friendly products
benefit the earth, animals, and us. Many products contain strong chemicals that could harm
domesticated pets. Eco alternatives would benefit pets easily. And using eco-friendly products in
a garden would avoid harming any useful insects, unlike chemical products.
Another way to help the animals is to make hunting endangered species illegal. The only
reason we should hunt animals is for food instead of hunting for fun. Hunting for sport is cruel

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and unnecessary, many animals go through long, painful deaths when they are injured but not
killed by hunters. Natural predators maintain balance by killing those who are sick and weak.
Most hunting occurs on private land, where laws are unable to protect wildlife. Hunters can pay
to kill native and exotic species in canned hunts on private lands where there are hunting
reserves and ranches set up. Most of these animals are native to the area or raised elsewhere.
Those that are raised somewhere else are brought in or purchased from individuals who have an
surplus of animals from zoos and circuses. Animals make up a majority of the world and now we
are killing precious creatures just for a trophy.
Many animals lose their homes due to deforestation. If humans brought an end to
deforestation, animals would gain homes again. Protecting rainforests not only provides animals
with shelter, but forests are also a source of oxygen for humans. Tropical forests not only provide
oxygen for us to breathe, but also take CO2 out of the atmosphere and store much more carbon
than forests in temperate regions. Losing such forests greatly hampers Earths ability to remove
carbon from the atmosphere and avoid the worst effects of global warming. Preserving tropical
forests helps protect the millions of plant and animal speciesmany of which have been
invaluable to human medicinethat are indigenous to tropical forests and in danger of
extinction. Keeping forests intact also helps prevent floods and drought by regulating regional
rainfall.
In 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. This act shows concern for many
native plants and animals who are in danger of becoming extinct. The reason for the Endangered
Species Act was to provide protection for endangered species and the ecosystems they depended

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on. The Endangered Species Act lists how a species could be either endangered or threatened.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains how endangered means a species is in danger of
extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range and threatened means a species is
likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. No matter what type of plant or
animal species it is, there is a chance of it being threatened or endangered.
There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List, and 16,306 of them are endangered
species threatened with extinction. If humans watched where their trash ended up, they would
see how a simple task of not throwing it away in the trash can harm a creatures life. Many
humans would change their ways if they saw what happened to animals and how many species
were going extinct. Many people notice what is happening in their area rather than around the
world. People notice animals are in the zoo or aquariums, so they believe that the animals are
safe. They dont understand that around the world in Africa, a teenager is hunting animals for fun
and polar bears are losing shelter or starving, in the Arctic. With the help from humans, Earth can
return to a safe, natural environment for animals worldwide.

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Works Cited
"Endangered Earth Promoting the Plight of Endangered Species and the Efforts to Save
Them." Endangered Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.
"Endangered Species Act | Overview." Endangered Species. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.
"Kendall Jones: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know." Heavy.com. N.p., 01 July 2014. Web. 09
May 2016.
Sherry, Clifford J. Endangered Species: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABCCLIO, 1998. Print.
Wagner, Viqi. Endangered Species. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print.