The Extinction Crisis & Humanity

We've all heard the term, "Extinction Crisis" thrown around the past few years and perhaps, some of us have chosen not to investigate further. Some of us have chosen to turn our backs to the horrifying reality of the crisis that is plaguing nearly every species on our planet. Some of us can even be directly linked to the perils that are responsible for the decimation of a species. There are also those who are sounding the alarm; recognizing the severity of the situation and calling attention to it. Regardless of which person you align yourself with, the extinction crisis is happening around us and we are almost entirely to blame.

I look at the situation the gray wolves in the United States are currently facing as my first example. Gray wolves were on the Endangered Species list for about 45 years  & In January of 2021, gray wolves were callously removed from the list, stripping them of their protections and leaving them vulnerable once again to needless slaughter. In just over a year, gray wolves have received federal protections again because of our complete inability to coexist and utter lack of respect for other living beings. 

Gray wolves were hunted up to 90% in some U.S. States, with poaching and sport hunting being big contributing factors. Literally one year and we've undone 45 years of resources, education, time spent, and effort. We can't be trusted to manage wildlife and the plight of grey wolves is proof to that point. Not enough of us care, but we should.

The gray wolves are a cautionary tale to us all because it demonstrates our continued inability to find solutions when it comes to coexisting with animals. It demonstrates a continued division in our beliefs about the importance of animals and their equal rights to the land that we inhabit. It specifically demonstrates the importance of us collectively approaching conservation and habitat protection, because as the story of the gray wolves shows us, division leads to extinction. Such is the case with a lot of the species that have found themselves on the endangered species list; there are still enough of us out there who don't understand or don't care how our actions are directly affecting animals. Let's look at a couple recognizable species on the list and what put them on the there. (Spoiler! It was humans!)

SNOW LEOPARD

STATUS - Vulnerable
POPULATION - Anywhere Between 4, 000 - 6, 500

Snow Leopards inhabit mountainous regions in 12 Asian countries and their survival is imperative for the health of their habitat. Unfortunately, every single peril that is putting them at risk of further endangerment / extinction can be traced back to humans. Illegal poaching, hunting, loss of prey, climate-change related habitat loss, and retaliatory livestock killings. 

These big, beautiful cats face an uncertain future if we cannot collectively agree on a path forward for them. If hunting & poaching continue, they will face further endangerment. Humans consumption of livestock is also putting snow leopards in peril as livestock are easily accessible food sources. Snow Leopards will go extinct because of humans.

TIGERS

STATUS - Endangered - Critically Endangered
POPULATION - Fewer than 3, 500

There are several sub-species of tigers, but one thing they all have in common is facing the possibility of extinction. Hunting, human conflicts, habitat loss, and illegal poaching have contributed to the tiger landing on the Endangered Species List. Tigers are poached for various parts of their bodies because it is believed they have medicinal properties in Asian medicine. Despite penalties for killing tigers in some areas, they continue to be poached because there is profit to be made. Their perils can all be directly traced back to us and if we do not work together diligently, tigers will undoubtedly be extinct within the next 20 years.

GIRAFFES

STATUS - Vulnerable
POPULATION - Under 69, 000

Giraffes have been silently heading towards extinction. Poached for their tales, meat, and pelts, along with illegal poaching, trophy hunting, habitat loss, and human conflicts; giraffes are fighting a losing battle for survival and almost all of their perils can be traced back to human activity. 

Considering that only 1/4 of all giraffe calves will survive due to predation, we need to address all forms of legal hunting involving giraffes right off the bat. Once we tackle that, we can focus entirely on anti-poaching initiatives and community education. We must do more now before giraffes find themselves needlessly close to extinction.

BLACK RHINO

STATUS - Critically Endangered
POPULATION: Under 5, 500

The story of the black rhino is simply the story of every rhino species; hunted to extinction. Rhinos are heavily protected in many areas but the poaching is so prevalent that they continue to plunge precariously close to extinction. We've seen the Northern White & Western Black subspecies fall victim to extinction and if we do not act ferociously, every other rhino species in Africa will be extinct in the wild.

Regardless of the species, they're on the list for the exact same reasons. We're killing them unnecessarily for food. We're killing them for sport. We're killing them illegally to profit off of their parts. We're killing them for attacking our livestock. We're constantly expanding and taking away more of their habitat. Every single problem they face can be traced back to us. We are constantly fighting ourselves and whilst doing so, everything around us is going extinct.

As someone who cares about animals, I don't have a lot of faith in our planet's ability to come together for the sake of animals. As long as there are people that are happily signing up for wildlife killing contests, animals will suffer. As long as there are people willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to shoot lions, elephants, giraffes etc., animals will continue to suffer. Our too little, too late approach is exactly why everything around us is dying. 

The extinction crisis is real y'all. Speak up, speak out, and spread awareness. We have to continue the fight, even if it is a losing battle because our planet's species depend on those of us who continue to try.

HAPPY VEG

Information gathered from the following sources;
African Wildlife Foundation - awf.org
World Wildlife Foundation - worldwildlife.org
Animals Around the Globe - animalsaroundtheglobe.com
nywolf.org