The Animals We Stand to Lose
At Nature Links, we’ve begun an endangered species series this fall. In this series of classes, we’ll closely examine a few of the world’s most endangered animals (and plants) to explore their crucial positions within various ecosystems, the challenges they face on the path to recovery, and ongoing efforts to save them from extinction. Many Nature Links participants are particularly concerned about endangered animals. One participant donates regularly to the World Wildlife Fund to help endangered leopards, and more than one participant protected vulnerable monarch butterflies last summer as they hatched from their chrysalises. The purpose of this unit is to use our collective knowledge of these endangered animals as a launching pad, to deepen our understanding of the threats harming these endangered creatures, and to help raise awareness around the people who are working hard to save them. Here are a few things we learned in our first two classes…
The Most Endangered Animal in the World- The Sumatran Rhino
The Sumatran rhino is the smallest of the five living rhinoceroses and the only Asian rhino with two horns. Sumatran rhinos compete with the Javan rhino for the unenviable title of the most endangered animal in the world. Some estimates claim there are as few as 30 Sumatran rhinos left on earth, an especially staggering number when you consider that rhinos once roamed many places throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. At the beginning of the 20th century, 500,000 rhinos roamed our planet. Today, three of the five species face extinction. While habitat loss and poaching initially caused their numbers to diminish, the remaining animals survive in small, fragmented populations. With limited possibilities to find each other to breed, the Sumatran rhino’s population decline continues. The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia is working to protect this incredibly vulnerable creature. The Sanctuary currently protects eight resident rhinos, providing them with state-of-the-art nutrition, and veterinary care. At least two baby rhinos have been successfully bred at the Sanctuary since 2012.
The Most Endangered Animal in the United States- The Florida Panther
Florida panthers, a subspecies of the mountain lion, grow to a length of six to seven feet long and weigh 100 to 160 pounds. These carnivorous felines are skilled at hunting white-tailed deer, feral hogs, raccoons, and other medium-sized mammals and reptiles. But despite their impressive size, beauty, and hunting prowess, these gorgeous cats remain incredibly vulnerable. There are an estimated 120 or so Florida panthers living in the wild. Their habitat, once consisting of nearly the entire Southeastern U.S., has been quickly and steadily vanishing since settlers began moving into the panther's territory in the 1600s. The panther became greatly feared and hated by settlers and farmers, so much so that in 1887, the state of Florida authorized a $5 bounty for panther scalps. Today, the state of Florida’s rapidly increasing population and resulting development is the cat’s biggest threat. Florida’s population has almost tripled in size since the state’s panthers were first placed on our country’s very first list of endangered species in 1973. As an average of 900 people move to the state every single day, the situation doesn’t seem to be improving. Florida panthers are especially threatened by traffic accidents as adult males require a large land mass within which they can roam. Efforts to increase the number of wildlife crossings under or around highways throughout the state of Florida are a much-needed step in ensuring panthers can explore their diminishing habitat safely.
Nature Links participants are curious and compassionate learners. They want to know how to help save the Sumatran rhino, the Florida panther, and the estimated 16,300 animals that are endangered worldwide. As Nature Links students educate themselves and others about these vulnerable creatures, they’ve begun the first step in saving endangered species around the world.
