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Entry bubble Bye Bye, Blue Pike

By: Stephanie | September 10, 2009 | Category: General

Today Jane Goodall, famously known as the woman who lived with chimpanzees in Tanzania and noted conservationist, is lecturing at the Library of Congress on endangered species. Conservation efforts like Goodall’s were on my mind last weekend as I walked past endangered Galapagos Tortoises and Madagascar lemurs at a zoo. Seeing those animals made me curious about endangered species in the United States.

dead fishI learned that the U.S. currently has 1,320 endangered or threatened animal and plant species. An endangered species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and a threatened species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the current rate of extinction is much higher now than in the past, mainly due to habitat loss. Other reasons are disease, pollution, the introduction of harmful nonnative species, and over-exploitation of wildlife for commercial purposes.

You can search for a specific species of plant or animal to find its status, or see the status of some of the more popular species.

A number of species have been removed from the endangered or threatened list. It’s chilling to me to see the species that are no longer on the list because they’re now extinct: the blue pike, the Santa Barbara song sparrow, and the Mariana mallard, to name a few.

Still, other species are no longer on the list because they’ve been saved by conservation efforts. The gray wolf, the Yellowstone grizzly bear, and, as GovGabber Jake noted, the bald eagle, are some of the success stories.

Learn more about endangered and threatened species from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And consider buying Federal Duck Stamps, where 98 cents of every dollar go directly to buying or leasing wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

What do you think about wildlife and plant conservation?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: animal   conservation   endangered_species   extinction   habitat_loss   plant   stephanie   threatened_species   wildlife  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by Terence Hooi on September 12, 2009 at 11:21 PM EDT

Having visited the USA several times, I am always sad to hear that so many animals are now only available to be seen at the Zoo. I distinctly remember the time when I saw a bald eagle and was told that it was no longer able to fly. way too sad.

Here are some cool photos of this beautiful bird.

http://www.wildnatureimages.com/BaldEaglePhotos.htm

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blue comment bubble Posted by Not Mine on September 16, 2009 at 12:27 PM EDT

I agree with conservation to a point. There is no shortage of homeless people. Should we ignore them? There is no shortage of stray cats and dogs either but, we feed and house them. I also believe that some creatures disappear as a natural process. There is nothing natural though about killing an unborn child. It is interesting to note that this site says it does not descriminate against any views but, it reserves the right not to post comments. Does that mean you don't post the comments that you don't agree with?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Not Mine on September 17, 2009 at 08:51 AM EDT

Bravo! I applaud the moderator of this site for posting comments that may not go with the flow of the article. We have too many people who are afraid to allow honest people to express their opinions that may not be politically correct but, are based on God given convictions of right and wrong.

Thank you to Stephanie for the article. I believe in conservation but, I don't think we would need mandatory conservation if everyone would just do the right thing. It is a matter of personal accountability. I choose not to litter because it is the right thing to do. I choose not to poision the water or harm the earth because it is the right thing to do. If you refuse to do the right thing, you should be fined or put out of business. We cannot be self-centered and do the right thing. Do the right thing. Not because it is easy, but because it is the right thing to do.

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blue comment bubble Posted by stephanie on October 19, 2009 at 07:15 PM EDT

The Library of Congress has posted Jane Goodall's lecture at http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4647.

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