From animals of the land, to the sea, to the air, join me as I show to you 9 animals that
will be going extinct very soon.
9.
The Pinta Island Tortoise When it comes to the turtle family, they are
a group of animals that are indeed close to extinction in regards to certain members.
Such as The Pinta Island Tortoise, which resides in Ecuador in South America.
But their story is one that is one of dying out, then coming back to life.
Because when the first of The Pinta Island Tortoise were found, it was on the legendary
Galapagos Islands.
The very ones were Darwin had a field day learning about evolution and Natural Selection.
Anyway, one of these were found on the Galapagos, and called "Lonesome George" because it was
thought to be the last of its species.
But, in 2007, a journey to Pinta Island, just off of Ecuador, was found to have more of
these rare turtles, and they were mating with the tortoises of the island.
Creating The Pinta Island Tortoise.
But, despite the massive tortoise population, there are only a few dozen of these hybrid
turtles around.
Which means that should something go wrong, the population could die out.
Only time will tell if they are able to grow.
8.
Pika Let it be known that just because we've explored
the world more than once, we haven't found everything on it.
And just because we found something, doesn't mean it's something that "pops up" all the
time.
A great example of this is the Pika.
They weren't officially discovered until 1983, and then they "disappeared" afterwards and
weren't spotted again until 2014.
That's a lot of hiding and not being found, which has made many wonder how exactly they
live so well without being spotted.
There's a catch though, there are only around 1000 Pika left in the world at last count.
Which again isn't an exact science given their hiding methods.
Lifestyle is said to be the cause of the low numbers..
They prefer a certain temperature, but because of climate change, they are forced to climb
higher and higher into the mountains to get where they need to go to be ok.
But in doing so, they put themselves in danger of not having enough food to survive.
Add to all of that, the air in those mountains is full of air pollution.
Which slowly kills them, thus lowering their numbers.
They could go extinct soon if things don't change.
Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel so that you don't miss our weekly
videos!
7.
The Bornean Orangutan Despite being one of our closest "relatives"
in the animal kingdom, there are several species of monkey that are close to extinction, and
the Bornean Orangutan is one that is very close to that.
This species can be found on the island of Borneo, and they've actually populated that
area for a great deal of time.
Despite this long duration, their population numbers are frightening, as they have been
falling since the 1950s.
In fact, a study on The Bornean Orangutan revealed that the population of the species
has dropped by 60% since the 50's, and it's believed it could be another 22% drop by 2025.
Due to these drops in their population, they're feared to be critically endangered, the last
step before full extinction.
A big reason for their decline is because they only live on the island, it hurts their
chances to expand.
Which makes them vulnerable to human interference as the forests of Borneo are being chopped
down slowly but surely.
Also, they don't breed that often, a female Bornean Orangutan only has birth every 6-8
years.
Finally, they're being illegal poached.
Each of these factors can lead to drops in population, but combined?
It's a near death sentence.
Many efforts are being made to try and save the Oragnutan, but whether it can be saved
is a question not many are able to solve.
6.
Spix's Macaw Birds aren't something you'd typically associate
with being on the brink of extinction.
But if you were to head to Brazil, you'd find yourself looking at a very endangered species
in the form of the Spix's Macaw.
A bird so rare in the world today that most of them can only be found in zoos.
Which for many species is proof that their time on this Earth is nearly at an end.
There is some hope for the Spix's Macaw, as there are some who claim that they still live
in the forests of Brazil, however, many sightings of them are spread out, and they're very few
and far between.
The true irony of this is that humanity is the reason for the Spix Macaw's downfall.
They lived in a very specific tree called the Caraiba Tree, and humanity has slowly
but sure taken them down, which means that they don't have a habitat to live in anymore.
So unless they're found and are allowed to live freely (and not in zoos), their numbers
will continue to be low.
5.
Scimitar Oryx Here is another case of humanity coming to
affect another creature of nature.
However, nature itself also had a role to play in the fall of the Scimitar Oryx.
If you think that this creature is similar to the antelope, you would be correct, as
it's one that is very close in nature, and is actually its cousin for lack of a better
term.
They lived primarily in Africa, specifically in North Africa near the Sahara Desert.
At one point in time, the northern areas were lush with life and vegetation, which the Oryx
happily enjoyed.
But, when the area quickly went to a desert landscape, they could only live in certain
areas where vegetation still remained.
Which wasn't a lot.
Then, when the European settlers started to come to Africa, they saw the Scimitar Oryx
as a perfect "trophy", so they started to hunt them down.
This resulted in them becoming extinct in the wild.
However, they aren't all gone, they are still out there, but only as livestock in countries
like Tunisia, Senegal, and even the United States.
Some of them are even put into breeding programs to try and get the population numbers up.
And the results of that are some of them being let back into the wild.
However, they're still on the edge, and the re-introduction into the wild is full of risks
that could still lead to close to extinction numbers.
4.
Hawksbill Turtle Many turtle species are endangered because
of human interference.
And the Hawksbill Turtle is a prime example of that.
How so?
Well, it's because of their shells.
The Hawksbill Turtle has one that has overlapping scales that make it look like they're very
serrated.
This unique pattern is highly valued on land.
So poachers go down and kill the turtle, and then take the shell to sell.
The market is very big for these turtles.
There are many reasons for this to be outlawed, especially since the Hawksbill Turtle is said
to be a species of turtle that has been around for about 100 million years.
But not only that, they're a key part of the ecosystem of the ocean.
Hawksbill Turtles help keep the coral reefs alive, and so if they were to go extinct,
a great deal of other creatures would be affected.
So unless bigger and grander efforts are made to stop poaching and save this turtle, many
lives, and ecosystems, will continue to be affected.
3.
Amur Leopard There are many "Big Cats" in the world, and
their endangered nature depends on the species.
One that is dangerously close to dying out is the Amur Leopard.
Ironically, they don't live in Africa though.
Instead, they resided in Russia and in China.
It's the natives of China and Russia that have caused the Amur Leopard to go from thousands
to dozens in population size.
That's right, dozens are left.
First, their lands were destroyed by the native people, and then, they were hunted to near
extinction because of their fur.
There's only 57 of these leopards left in Russia, and they may not even be in China
anymore.
All of this points to a death of the species coming very soon should things not change.
2.
Sumatran Elephant Elephants as a whole are a species that are
hunted to near extinction many times over, which most people in the world know sadly
enough.
Also know is that the reason for this is because of the ivory that comes from their tusks.
Ivory is valuable, and many people want it for various reasons.
So they need it, and poachers will kill elephants by the hundreds to get it and make money off
of it.
This has resulted in the endangerment and extinction of many elephants species over
the recent decades.
One that is very near the extinction line is the Sumatran Elephant.
Obviously, a big reason for the dying population of the Sumatran Elephant is the hunting of
it for Ivory.
However, it's also got a habitat problem.
The forests of Sumatran are being cut down, and that's where these elephants like to live.
With their habitats gone, they're forced to try and live in other places.
Which isn't as open-ended as you might think.
This has led to conflicts with people in local villages.
The townspeople shoot them in "self-defense".
Further thinning their numbers.
In the past generation, the Sumatran Elephant is said to have lost half of its entire population.
Should things not stop, this will be yet another extinct animal added to the list of died out
elephant species.
1.
Black Rhino.
Rhinos as a whole are a species of animal that are almost always in danger of extinction.
But it's not because of nature that this happens, it's because of humans.
Humans hunt down rhinos because of their ivory horns, which they use to sell for a good profit.
And even though many groups have come to try and get the Ivory trade stopped, many poachers
are still aiming to get Ivory and sell it for whatever they can get.
Which results in species like the Black Rhino being driven to near extinction.
Just in the last 60 years, the population numbers for the Black Rhino species have fallen
by 96%.
96%!
And many subspecies of the Black Rhino have been declared extinct, and others are very
much on the verge of dying out.
As a whole, the rhino species only has about 5500 individuals in all of Africa!
And while conservation efforts are being done, many wonder if it will be enough given the
veracity of poachers and their desires for profit.
Only time will tell what happens to them.
And there you have some animals that are on the verge of extinction What do you think
about them?
Do you think that they can make a comeback?
Do you feel that humanity will be able to save them if given enough time?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe to the channel, and I'll see
you next time!