Saving species from extinction

Extinction and endangered species

Animals becoming extinct has always been a reality. Even in
prehistoric times animals became extinct, but they became extinct
because of natural resaons not like animals in modern times. For
example, nobody really knows why dinosaurs became extinct but,
what's sure is that it happened naturally.
Animals are disappearing so quickly that many are already extinct, for
example, the Golden Toad, the Pyrenean Ibex and the Portuguese
Mountain Goat. In Spain, other animals apart from the Pyrenean Ibex
are endangered. They are: Iberian lynx, Cantabrian brown bear,
Pyrenean desman, Marine turtle, Iberian wolf, Mediterranean monk
seal, and Commen reed bunting.
In the last hundred years, humans beings have hunted animals too
much, polluted the environment and destroyed the places where they
used to live. Climate change and global warming have also affected
animals. For example, polar bears who live in the North Pole, north of
the Artic Circle are now an endangered species. Global warming is
causing sea ice to disappear for longer and longer periods, leaving
polar bears too little time to hunt. Polar bears need ice so they can
hunt seals, without ice, they die.
Another example of an endangered species are tigers. In the last ten
years the number of tigers living in the wild has decreased by 40%.
There are only 3 % left living in the wild. Deforestation and poaching,
which is hunting animals for certain parts like for the skin, or for
specific organs, are endangering tigers.
In Africa and Asia elephants and rhinoceros have suffered poaching
for their horns and many animals have died. Humans invading their
habitat or destoying their habitat is a cause too.

Sea turtles and whales have suffered a lot and not only because
global warming is changing the temperature of the oceans and
melting ice. People hunt them. Hunting whales was prohibited in
1986, but Japan, Norway and Iceland continue to hunt them.

Reintroduction programmes for animals

Nowadays, there are reintroduction programmes that reintroduce
endangered animals into their natural habitats. These programmes
are very complicated and expensive, but are also very successful at
making it possible. To do this, they need to have a female and a male
to breed them in captivity. Then, when they have enough animals,
they prepare the habitat so the animals can survive. And lastly, they
reintroduce the animals.
Red squirrels became extinct in Ireland when the tree they depended
on died out. So, to reintroduce the Red squirrel in Ireland first they
had to reintroduce the tree, Scots Pine and then they were able to
reintroduce the squirrel because the squirrel eats the cones of this
tree. This was successful.
Californian Condors became so endangered that by 1982 there were
only 22 left in zoos. They did captive breeding and reintroduction and
now there are about 130 living in the wild. This is amazing.
Wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and though
wolves have a bad reputation, really they never attack people and so
this programme was successful and good for everyone.
When White-tailed eagles became extinct in Ireland and Scotland,
they brought over chicks from Norway. First they were reintroduced in
Scotland and then in Ireland.
Black footed ferrets were an endangered species until they started
captive breeding in Colorado and reintroduction in Montana.
One of the most amazing programmes was the Przewalski's horse.

These horses are the ancestor of modern day horses. In the (1900)
century, they had 15 of these horses captured and palced in zoos.New
horses have been bred from these and nowdays there are about 1500
Przewalski's horses alive. They have a reserve for these horsess in
Mongolia and maybe some day can reintroduce them.
I think that reintroduction programmes are necessary and very
important because like that they avoid the extiction of the species in
danger and these animals will have a better future.

http://www.thelocal.es/galleries/others/seven-adorable-babyanimals-that-may-not-exist-in-spain-in-the-future/7
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/releasing-black-footed-ferretsinto-the-wild