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“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”
- Jim Fowler -
Animals are the beauty of nature. Since ancient times, there has been a close connection between animals and humans. But with the development of the world, some animal species are no longer in existence and also some are threatened with extinction. Animal species that still exist and will become extinct in the future are called endangered animals. The largest inventory which indicates the health of the world's biodiversity, including the extinction risk of species, is the IUCN Red List of threatened species. According to the IUCN Red List 26% of mammals, 14% of birds, 41% of amphibians and 37% of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction.
Sri Lanka is an island which is rich in biodiversity itself. But unfortunately most animal species have a threat to become extinct. Asian Elephants ( Elephas Maximus Maximus ), Leopard ( Panthera Pardus Kotiya ), Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus), (Leatherback Turtle) (Dermochelys Coriacea) , Red Slender Loris (Loris Tardigradus), The Sloth Bear (Melursus Ursinus), The Black-Necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus Asiaticus), Toque Macaque (Macaca Sinica) , Purple-Faced Langur (Semnopithecus Vetulus), The Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus), Tennent’s Leaf Nosed Lizard (Ceratophora Tennentii) and Meminna (Moschiola Meminna) are some of those endangered animal species in Sri Lanka.
Habitat degradation, loss of genetic variation, loss of habitat, fragmentation, pollution and poaching are some threats to animals becoming endangered. Human activities such as development of houses, industries, and agriculture cause a species to become endangered by reducing habitat for native species. Even the changes in climate have an adverse effect on these animals. The introduction of non indigenous animals to ecosystems which are not familiar is also a cause to a species to become endangered.
Animals play a major role to maintain a balanced ecosystem. Ecosystems become imbalanced with the absence of even one species due to the loss of link in that creature's food chain. The consequences can be critical too. Therefore, it is important to protect these creatures.
Even though there are many species which are endangered, governments, local and international organizations, volunteering individuals and communities do their best to conserve them with the common aim of growing the populations of those endangered species. Organizing awareness campaigns to get more people involved for this vital process of conserving wildlife is important since the problem is still getting worse despite the intentions and effort of those organizations. Not only the organizations but also as individuals, raising the awareness about endangered animals and doing even the smallest deeds to protect those creatures could make a huge impact. The conservation of endangered animals and restoring the balance of ecosystems in return helps our survival as humans as well.
Once they are gone, they are gone forever. No one wants to see these beautiful beings vanish. Hence it is our duty to protect these valuable creatures of mother nature.
- Rtr. Naduni Thilakarathne -
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