We share planet Earth with millions of species of animals and birds. Many species of these animals and birds are in danger of disappearance in near future. According to an estimate over 22,000 could become extinct. Once they become extinct, they are gone forever.
Here is an introduction of some endangered species.
1- Indus River Dolphin:
The blind Indus river dolphins are one of only four river dolphin species in the world that spend all of their lives in freshwater. The beak of the Indus river dolphin is prominent, swollen at the tips and quite long, reaching 20% of the length of the body, with large, visible teeth. Due to poor eyesight, they rely on their sharp voice to sense and map the environment. They find the food on the river bottom by swimming to one side, and simply opening the mouth whenever senses that there is food near. The critically endangered blind dolphins are only 1,100 in existence today in the lower parts of our Indus River.
2- Green Turtle:
The green turtles live in tropical and subtropical oceans. They have beautiful green hue on their skin. Their outer hard heart shaped shell is wide and brownish olive colour. The inside of the shell is yellow. They cannot pull their head into the body. Their paddle like flippers aid in quick swimming, when young they feed on crabs, jellyfish, and other creatures. But as adults they become herbivores, eats sea grasses and algae.
Female turtle lays eggs on beaches. Sandspit Karachi is one of the famous green turtle nesting beaches of world. They are killed for their meat and eggs. A large number of green turtles accidentally caught in fishing nests of fishermen.
3- Snow Leopard:
Snow leopards have beautiful spotted skin change with the seasons, from a background of thick, white fur to keep them warm and camouflaged in winter, to a fine yellow-grey coat in the summer. The pattern of spots is unique to each individual snow leopard. The tail is extra long about 80 to 105 centimeters. It helps to keep balance in rough mountainous habitats and covers around the body to save the cat from severe cold.
Silent, elegant, and sharp big cat typically lives in some of the extreme high altitude and cold climate on earth. Unlike other tigers and lions, snow leopards cannot give a full and deep roar. It is because of the under-development of the fibro-elastic tissue that forms part of the vocal apparatus.
The big cat lives in the high mountains of the Karakoram and the Hindukush. They are mainly found in Baltistan, Chitral, Gilgit, Upper Swat Valley, and the Slopes of Nanga Parbat.
They are critically endangered species, over the past 20 years; their numbers have declined by at least 20%.
4- The Red-crowned Crane:
These endangered birds are some of the tallest birds in the world. Cranes are highly social birds and live in large flocks. They have long neck and long legs, and large round wings. They have white plumage, with black secondary feathers. During the flight, their body forms a straight line from bill to toes, portraying a beautiful, elegant image. They live in deep water marshes of Japan, China and Russia. They eat snails, small fish, frogs, insects and snakes.
Their long bill is useful to survey into water for prey. They are famous for their dances. During the dance they jerk, bounce, leaping up in the air and run wildly with outstretched wings.
The fossil records and prehistoric caves paintings show that red crowned bird is a primitive bird and existed 37 to 54 million years ago. Today they are threatened mainly due to loss of habitat which are gradually being turned into farms or housing sites.
5- Pangolins:
These are the world's only scaly mammals. They live in tropical forests, dry woodlands and the savannah. The body of pangolin is completely covered with scales made of keratin. They can bend into a tight ball, with scales out. They feed on ants and termites, which they pick up with their long, sticky tongues. Human rustlers are the main danger to the species. According to estimation, more than a million pangolins have been snatched from the wild in the past decade.
6- Sumatran elephants:
These giant animals are world's critically endangered species. They are the residents of plain forest in Sumatra, western Indonesia, close to rivers. Bananas ginger, and young bamboo leaves are their favourite foods. Their current population is around 2,400 to 2,800 in the wild. Deforestation and economic development has badly effected their population.
7- Giant panda:
The innocent, quite, playful, and heavy weight Panda bear is the most favorite animal among children. It has large, prominent, black patches around its eyes. Its legs are smaller than other bears. Its front legs are longer than the back legs. They love to eat bamboo and spend 12 hours of the day eating bamboos. They also eat carrots, apples and some insects. A panda spend most of its time eating and sleeping.
Giant pandas live in the mountains of southwestern China, in damp, misty forests of bamboo. The fast urban development of China, destruction of forests and their hunting has made it difficult for Pandas to survive. Today, only around 1,600 giant pandas survive on Earth.
8- Gorillas:
The gorilla is the largest primate in existence. Humans hunt and kill these animals to capture the babies for illegal international pet trade. In recent years, the gorilla population has also taken a hit from human diseases such as the Ebola virus. In some cultures in central Africa, the killing and eating of gorillas has increased in recent years and the animals are frequently slaughtered for the bush meat trade.
Only 17% of the gorilla population currently lives in protected regions, and vast areas of gorilla forest have already been lost. That destruction continues as logging companies' clear areas for the timber trade, the mining and oil and gas industries move into gorilla territory, and local people cut down trees to make room for agricultural fields and livestock.
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