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endangered & extinct Animals Discover Earth’s most vulnerable species & how to save them
back from the brink
first edition
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Conservation’s greatest success stories
Infamous extinctions
new Threats
Rewilding projects
Lost forever
Why do animals
go extinct? From microscopic viruses to enormous asteroids, a whole host of dangers threaten the existence of vulnerable species Words Victoria Williams
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Why do animals go extinct? MAIN Earth has experienced several mass extinction events throughout its history, including the disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs
Climate change Fluctuations in Earth’s climate have led to mass extinctions in the past, and many experts believe the current change in climate is one of the factors driving us toward another extinction event – but the effects of climate change are also visible right now. Animals used to cold conditions are moving further up mountainsides, while reptiles are seeing skews in the sex of their offspring as development within the egg is determined by temperature. Plants are flowering earlier in the year due to unseasonably warm weather, blooming and dying before pollinating insects emerge to search for spring food. Storms and forest fires are becoming more frequent, leading to further loss of vital habitat. If predictions are correct, polar creatures will lose the ice they depend on and coastal areas will be flooded by the extra water. Marine creatures are just as much at risk as the land animals. Animals that have adapted to a very specific set of conditions may be unable to cope if water temperatures rise, and the loss of even one species will disrupt the rest of the local food web. Warmer waters are likely to lead to ocean acidification, a change which would affect the growth of marine plants, coral and the lives of countless other water-dwelling animals.
above The disappearance of the ice cap will have far-reaching effects
Competition
Disease
Natural disasters
Invasive species – whether introduced on purpose or by accident – compete with native species for food and territory and can bring new diseases into a habitat.
Diseases have the power to wipe out entire populations very quickly. If the remaining members of a species live in a small area, a disease outbreak can be disastrous.
As well as directly endangering vulnerable animals, natural disasters such as fires, floods, landslides and earthquakes also damage their habitats and food sources.
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Lost forever An illustration from a book entitled Extinct Birds, published in 1907
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Death of the dodo The world-famous bird met a grisly fate when it came across the most dangerous species on the planet Words Amy Grisdale Island-dwelling animals inhabit delicate ecosystems that should not be disrupted. The sad story of the dodo’s demise unfolded long before humans understood how the animal kingdom worked. Even now we’re still in the dark about much of the natural world. The dodo’s tale truly began around 10 million years ago, with a volcanic eruption in the Indian Ocean. Spewing lava from under the ground caused pressure to build up under the seabed. The ocean floor cracked, and magma burst upwards with extreme force and cooled quickly to form rock. Further eruptions added to the new solid mass and eventually the summit rose above the surface of the water. The island of Mauritius was formed, peaking at 600 metres (2,000 feet) above sea level. Over time, a 200,000-hectare (500,000-acre) chunk of empty rock transformed into a lush green forest penned in by a sandy shoreline. It isn’t clear exactly when the dodo arrived on Mauritius. Their pigeon ancestors almost certainly flew to the island, probably in response to all the new food spouting from the ground. The ample resources allowed the birds that made Mauritius their home to get bigger and their beaks changed shape to fit in with their new diets. Fruit from the tambalacoque tree was their favourite food, and while the dodo ate its fruit they inadvertently spread and fertilised its seeds, spreading trees all over the land. The breeding season came in August, the peak of Mauritian winter. Each pair of parents raised just one chick each year. It was a strategy that some birds still use today. Laying a single egg between two parents gives the chick an excellent chance of survival, and almost ensures the inheritance of their DNA which is the driving force behind all animal life on Earth. The birds grew into adults in just a few months under the careful eye of their mothers. Summers were stormy and turbulent and newly
© Wiki
Extinction factors
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Lost forever
The point of
no return
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The point of no return
Sadly, there are species on Earth today have populations so small they can never recover Words Amy Grisdale
When we’re certain an animal is going to disappear we call it functionally extinct. It’s like putting the species in limbo, waiting for confirmation that the animal is definitely gone. Numbers are really important to produce healthy offspring, and if the figures slip below a certain threshold, there’s no coming back. Small populations that reproduce soon become too closely related to be sustainable. DNA becomes more diverse when organisms mate randomly, as alleles (variants of genes) shuffle around to create genetic variation in the next generation. These slight differences might be advantageous, and eventually natural selection drives the species to adapt more to its environment. If there are only a few members of the species left, reproduction is anything but random. Alleles that occur infrequently risk being lost forever, reducing the quality of the genes overall. One way to combat functional extinction is to breed animals in captivity that could restore the wild population in the future. This isn’t ideal for every species, of course, but there have been enormous successes. In 1996 Tasmanian devils were hit with a deadly facial tumour disease that spread through close contact. Scientists and organisations launched into action and worked hard to boost the captive population, and healthy devils are now being released into the wild.
MAIN Unfortunately, all the northern white rhinos left on Earth are all females
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Endangered animals
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Most Endangered
Tigers There are currently 3,159 wild tigers estimated to be prowling the Earth. That’s 97 per cent fewer than existed a century ago. Of the nine tiger subspecies, three are extinct – the Caspian, Javanese and Balinese – and the South China tiger is known to be ‘functionally extinct’ with only a handful of individuals left in the wild, while the other five subspecies are endangered. So, in a bid to bring this beguiling big cat back from the brink, the governments of the world’s 13 tiger range countries made a plan. Through working with conservation experts, scientists, rangers and communities, they have pledged to double the tiger population by 2022 – the next Year of the Tiger in the Asian lunar calendar. These majestic creatures are apex predators and are crucial to the ecosystem as they control the number of smaller predators, prey herbivores and plants. However, being top of the food chain doesn’t keep them safe from poaching. Tigers have been captured and killed by big game hunters as trophies since the early 16th century until this was banned by the Indian government in 1971. But the damage was already done and one historian estimates that 80,000 tigers were slain in just 50 years between 1875 and 1925. Then, as fur coats surged in popularity in the Western world, tigers became fashion victims with their pelts fetching thousands. However, by the 1990s it became apparent
that they were being targeted for more than their fur – poachers were trading tiger bones and body parts on the black market for use in traditional medicines. Like many other endangered animals across Asia, tigers are being forced out of their habitats by humans for agriculture and development. They are solitary animals that are very territorial, requiring large areas of forest to survive, so much so that the WWF says that to protect one tiger we have to conserve around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of forest. Forcing these cats to compete for space not only leads to human conflict when they prey on livestock, it also causes inbreeding as the variety of mates decreases. Like all species, tigers need genetic diversity to adapt and survive, particularly with the threat of climate change. There is still much to be done before tigers can claw their way out of being critically endangered.
Sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae Estimated population Less than 400
Critically Endangered
“One historian estimates that 80,000 tigers were slain between 1875 and 1925 ”
From baldness and evil spirits, to joint pain and pimples, tigers are believed to cure all these maladies and more in traditional Chinese medicine. Their bones are ground into pills or steeped in rice wine and sold as expensive status symbols, thought to give the drinker great strength. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that the threat of this trade was fully realised, when a shocking 400 kilograms (882 pounds) of tiger and leopard bones were seized in Delhi, India, in 1993. China banned domestic trade of tiger bone in 1993, but in October 2018 the government released a controversial statement saying that tiger bone and rhino horn could be legally used. They claimed the specimens would only be obtained from farms but conservations argued that this would lead to a surge in illegal poaching. The following month, the government said it would postpone lifting its ban, pending ‘further study’.
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© Alamy
Tradition or tragedy
Above Bottles of tiger bone wine were seized from a Chinese supermarket in London
25 most endangered Tiger
Š Getty
Unlike lions, tigers are solitary animals that need large areas of forest to survive
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Endangered animals
The problem with palm oil Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, but to meet the demand, rainforests across Southeast Asia have been cleared for plantations, endangering animals and contributing to global warming. However, banning or boycotting palm oil might not help. A report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggests that this would lead to other ‘land-hungry oils’ taking its place. As other oil crops require nine times as much land to produce than palm oil, any replacement is likely to do more harm than good. One of the solutions the IUCN identifies is certification – where consumers pay more for responsibly sourced products. This would mean making people more aware of the orangutans’ plight, to boost demand for certified palm oil and create greater incentive for producers and retailers to seek out sustainable products.
orangutan Pongo tapanuliensis Estimated population Less than 800
critically Endangered
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Birds chirping, frogs croaking, insects thrumming – rainforests are a symphony of sound. But in recent years these noises have been drowned out by the buzz of chainsaws and the thwump of falling trees, and as the forests disappear, so has Asia’s only great ape. Orangutan means ‘person of the forest’ in Malay, probably because of their human-like mannerisms. In fact, they share 97 per cent of human DNA, yet some of our closest cousins are critically endangered because of us. Orangutans once swung from treetops across Southeast Asia but today they can only be seen on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, sharing their home with other endangered species. Now there are just 104,700 Bornean orangutans, 13,846 Sumatran and fewer than 800 Tapanuli, and their numbers are dwindling mainly due to deforestation. Given that they spend their whole lives in trees and rarely ever touch the ground, the loss of their home leaves many orangutans starving to death. Some die in fires that have been ignited to clear the land for farming, palm oil plantations or developments. Another major factor for the species’ decline is hunting. Their strength is seven times greater than a human’s but they are slow moving targets
for villagers who slaughter them for meat. They are targeted by farmers protecting their crops when hungry apes wander onto their land in search of food, and they are killed for their babies, which are cruelly taken and sold on the black market as pets. Infant orangutans normally nurse until they are six years old and females can stay with their mothers until their teens, observing how to be mothers themselves. Female orangutans only give birth about once every eight years – the longest interval between births of any animal – which is another reason why populations struggle to recover, despite efforts that are being made to protect them. Facilities such as the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo provide medical care for injured, orphaned and confiscated orangutans. Young apes will be paired with adults to learn the skills needed in the wild, like climbing and foraging, until they are ready to be released into the forest. Conservation organisation WWF also works to conserve their natural habitat, promote sustainable forestry and to stop the illegal trade of live animals, but with Borneo losing more than 100,000 orangutans in just 16 years, there is still much to be done.
“Orangutans are cruelly taken and sold on the black market as pets”
© Alamy; Mark Graf / Getty
Orangutans
Most Endangered
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Back from the brink
Saved by the Endangered Species Act Meet seven endangered animals that owe their continued existence to a piece of United States legislation enacted in the 1970s Words Laura Mears
The threats faced by some animals are so great and so urgent that it takes powerful legal action to secure their future. In the United States, this legal protection comes in the form of the Endangered Species Act. Passed into federal law in 1973, it helps US states to support their wildlife by providing the money and legal support they need for conservation. This includes banning hunting, controlling imports and exports, protecting habitats and developing recovery plans. Species added to the Endangered Species Act are either listed as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’. Endangered species are at immediate risk of extinction in all or part of their range. Threatened species are at risk of becoming endangered if nothing is done to help them soon. More than 200 species have received conservation support from the Endangered Species Act, and 99 per cent of them are still alive today. To date, 85 species have been ‘delisted’ because they no longer need protection. Sadly, a few, like the Eastern puma, the Caribbean monk seal, and the dusky seaside sparrow are now extinct. But, the vast majority are thriving thanks to the conservation efforts made possible by the Endangered Species Act.
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MAIN America’s national bird might not be here without the Endangered Species Act
ŠGetty Images
The Endangered Species Act
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Back from the brink Risk factors Shark bites Right now, the biggest cause of southern sea otter mortality is white sharks, responsible for around 60 per cent of annual deaths. Sharks seem to be mistaking them for seals, taking an investigative nip before moving on, however the damage inflicted, or subsequent infection that sets in, is often fatal.
Human hunting Thankfully the global fur trade that almost drove these sea mammals to extinction is now all but gone, having been outlawed since the early 20th century. Indigenous people, such as Alaska’s Yupik and Aleut tribes, are still permitted to hunt sea otters for subsistence and native handicrafts.
Oil spill One of the greatest threats hanging over this species is a hypothetical ticking timebomb. If oil gets into an otter’s fur, it compromises the vital insulation that keeps it warm, not to mention contaminating its entire ecosystem. A single major shipping or offshore drilling accident could wipe out thousands of otters in one fell swoop, as proven by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.
Pollution and disease Oil isn’t the only pollutant putting sea otters at risk. A proliferation of litter such as microplastic particles and other non-native pathogens in coastal waters means that higher levels of dangerous substances are being consumed across the food chain than ever.
sea otter Enhydra lutris Estimated population 125,000
Endangered
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S O S
Sea otter survival
SEA OTTER SURVIVAL California sea otters are often considered one of the great successes of conservation, but they still face significant threats Words Adam Millward With the species almost wiped out, a multi-national treaty – one of the first global conservation initiatives of its kind – was signed by the US, the UK, Japan and Russia in 1911, banning fur seal hunting. It undoubtedly helped pull this animal back from the brink. An ongoing commitment to their protection was repledged in the US by listing sea otters in the Endangered Species Act (1973) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972). The latter makes it illegal to harass or capture any marine mammal in US waters without a permit. Prospects are particularly troubling for the southern sea otter subspecies – native to the waters off California – of which there are thought to be only 3,000 or so left in the wild. Equally important as population size is re-establishing former territory, and both seem to have stalled in recent years; southern sea otters only occupy around a quarter of their past range. A greater distribution ensures
a healthier gene pool and also reduces the impact of population-decimating disasters such as oil spills. For decades, a dedicated band of conservationists, charities, academics and institutions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium have been leading the charge to reverse the fortunes of sea otters. As well as trying to gain a better understanding of the bigger ecological picture, this has also involved more direct approaches such as breeding programmes, rescue and rewilding of injured animals, in conjunction with legislative and social campaigns to tighten up harmful fishing practices and to reduce contamination entering the sea otter’s habitat. While sea otters have come a long way since near extinction in the early 20th century, now is no time to rest on our laurels, as these much-loved marine mammals are far from out of the woods yet.
©Getty
When it comes to wildlife conservation, sometimes the numbers can bely the reality. At a cursory glance of past and present population figures, you might assume that sea otters have staged a remarkable comeback, even if they’re still a long way short of the estimated 300,000 peak of their glory days. To some extent, that’s true, but it doesn’t reflect the full story. While certain threats have waned, others have risen in prominence, and there’s no doubt that these animals’ long-term future remains in jeopardy. Well-equipped for a marine lifestyle, these mustelids have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, enabling them to endure the chilly seas off the western US, Canada and Russia. Unfortunately, it was this life-saving coat that almost drove them to extinction, with demand for luxury fur clothing and accessories resulting in tens of thousands being killed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Back from the brink
The
plight of the panda As the poster bear for wildlife conservation for over two decades, the giant panda is gradually coming back from the brink of extinction Words Ella Carter
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The animal ambassador for endangered species across the world, the giant panda is a super-cuddly, ultra-adorable bear native to China’s misty mountain heartland. Made famous by WWF’s iconic logo, their fluffy monochrome markings, adorable faces and roly-poly demeanour can’t help but melt hearts. However, this species has had a rough ride over the last century. And yet – thanks to rigorous efforts made by charities, the Chinese government and captive breeding programmes – thankfully things are looking a little brighter for our favourite black-and-white bears. Native to the temperate broadleaf forests of southwest China, giant pandas are hugely distinctive thanks to their iconic monochrome coats. Living solitary lives and unable to hibernate, scientists think that this uniquely contrasting pattern is to enable camouflage throughout the seasons, keeping them safe in both shady summer climes and in snowy winter. Their incredible fur is also one of the reasons for their initial demise. Panda pelts were once highly prized, making the bears very vulnerable to poaching. The panda’s history is another factor that has put the species at high risk and has been brusquely termed ‘an evolutionary dead end’. This is due to the fact that they are very slow-growing, notoriously sluggish to reproduce and have a highly specific diet. Living to around 20 years old in the wild and not reaching sexual maturity until around the age of eight, giant panda mothers will only have around five to eight cubs in their entire lifetime. They may give birth to twins, but will only ever raise one cub at a time. Couple these slow-growing tendencies with the panda’s largest threat to survival – habitat loss – and it’s easy to see why this fragile species is in desperate need of protection. As one of the world’s fastest growing economies and populations, China’s central forests are under constant threat from human encroachment. Development of industry and infrastructure, logging and deforestation, clearing of woodland for farming alongside many other issues were, and are still, the largest threat to panda populations. The need to protect giant pandas has been in the public eye for a long time. As probably the best advocate for panda conservation, WWF has been championing the ‘save the panda’ movement since its inception in the 1960s. There were some reserves in effect to offer pandas some protection at this time, however as well as proper legislation, more research was needed to fully understand the giant panda’s intricate ecology. To kick-start the panda comeback, the 1980s and 1990s saw plenty of action for panda protection. The Chinese government worked to pass laws to
© Getty Images
The plight of the panda
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